Somali president pleads for help as insurgency rises

Somali President Sharif Sheikh Ahmed pleaded for help Monday at a regional summit, as an al-Qaida-inspired insurgency closed in on his Mogadishu palace.

Sharif told a summit of the Inter-Governmental Authority on Development (IGAD) in the Ethiopian capital that his war-torn country was "in the hands of al-Qaida and extremist groups. The whole issue needs urgent treatment."

"I would like to tell you that Somalia is going through its most dangerous phase in recent times and we are asking for intensified efforts in order to set up an effective military strategy," he told leaders from the six-nation bloc.

IGAD leaders met for emergency talks in Addis Ababa in following intensified clashes in Mogadishu between Islamist insurgents and Somali government troops backed by the African Union mission in Somalia (AMISOM).

Late on Sunday, the leader of the al-Qaida-inspired Shebab militia, Mohamed Abdi Godane, urged "the Somali people to unite to fight against the enemy of Allah," in an audio message.

"We know that the people in Mogadishu were honoured with two previous victories. They won the war against the Americans and the Ethiopians, and the fight against AMISOM will be the final victory by God's will," he said.

The United States withdrew its troops from Somalia after an ill-fated mission in the early 1990s, while Ethiopia pulled out in early 2009 following a two-year invasion.

Sharif was appointed then and seen as Somalia's best chance in years but he has failed to assert his authority and owes his survival largely to the protection of AMISOM's Burundian and Ugandan troops.

The IGAD meeting raised concern among some Mogadishu residents about the possibility of a return of Ethiopian forces to back the government, whose planned offensive against the Islamists since early 2010 failed to materialise.

"The word IGAD is a reminder of the Ethiopian military intervention for most Somalis," said Abdi Mohamud, a Mogadishu resident.

For Mohamud Samatar Abdi, Ethiopia's previous "bungled operation gave them a a bad name in Somalia. They need to improve their tactics."

At the summit, Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi called for more regional co-operation to resolve the crisis.

"The recent security situation does not augur well. This, coupled with the approaching end of the transitional period, calls for more serious work within the existing time frame," he said in reference to the Somali transitional government's mandate which expires next year.

"The Somalis, IGAD, the AU and other stakeholders have to play their respective roles in a proactive manner and help reverse the trend that isn't encouraging," Meles added.

Around 40 people, mostly civilians were killed in heavy clashes in the capital last week between the Shebab fighters and the AU-backed government forces.

Godane blamed the Ugandan and Burundian AU troops for killing civilians and warned the two countries.

"My message to the people of Uganda and Burundi is that you will be the targets of retaliation for the massacre of women, children and elderly Somalis in Mogadishu by your forces," the Shebab leader said.

"You will be held responsible for the killings your ignorant leaders and your soldiers are committing in Somalia."



Source: AFP