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AU
peacekeepers want to quit Somalia: PM
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 ADDIS
ABEBA(December 12,2008) - Prime
Minister Meles Zenawi said Thursday that the African Union peacekeeping
force in Somalia have asked Ethiopian troops planning to pull out
of the war ravaged African nation at the end of this month to help
them evacuate, too.
There are 3,200 soldiers from Uganda and Burundi guarding strategic
sites in the capital, which has been the focus of a two-year Iraq-style
insurgency by Islamist rebels battling Western-backed interim government.
"They have already informed us that they would want to withdraw
before we do, and we are only waiting for ships and planes to arrive
in Somalia in order for them to pull out," Meles told parliament
on Thursday.
"At this time, we are looking into every aspect of our withdrawal.
The main issue now is to ensure that Ugandan and Burundese peacekeepers
pull out safe and sound."
Neither country has made any announcement that it wanted to withdraw
its troops from the beleaguered force, which numbers some 3,400.
Ethiopia's foreign ministry announced late last month that it would
pull its troops out of Somalia by year's end, wrapping up its ill-fated
intervention aimed at supporting a weak transitional government amid
an Islamic insurgency which is said to claim thousands of lives.
A local human rights group said on Wednesday that the death toll from
fighting in Somalia had reached 16,210 since the start of last year.
The withdrawal of the foreign forces could leave the door open for
an insurgent assault.
Ethiopian troops have been supporting the administration, but Meles
has become increasingly frustrated by feuding among its leaders, the
financial cost of the operation and the absence of any serious, international
effort to pacify Somalia.
Addis Ababa says it will withdraw its forces at the end of December,
and Meles said the AU soldiers wanted to leave too.
"The African Union, Uganda and Burundi have all asked us to stay
behind and provide protection for the safe passage of their troops,"
Meles told parliament.
"The AU troops in Somalia are our comrades in arms, we have responsibility
to provide safe passage during their withdrawal."
Ethiopia's decision to pull out was final, he said, and he blamed
the international community for failing to fund the AU mission, AMISOM,
to its planned strength of 8,000 troops.
An Ethiopian withdrawal could create a power vacuum and leave Mogadishu
open to a takeover by the Islamists, who now control most of the south
and central regions and are camped on the outskirts of the city.
The ill-equipped AU troops might be ill-placed to stop that, even
if it were in their mandate. Ugandan and Burundian military spokesmen
were not immediately available to comment.
Some residents were cheered on Wednesday when moderate Islamist leader
Sheikh Sharif Ahmed returned to Mogadishu for the first time in two
years. His opposition faction is in U.N.-led talks with President
Abdullahi Yusuf's government.
But the rebels remain deeply divided, and witnesses said clashes between
other Islamist gunmen and pro-government forces killed at least 10
people in the city early on Thursday.
"We attacked five government bases and even neared the presidential
palace this morning," Sheikh Abdirahman Isse Adow, spokesman
for the Islamic Courts, told Reuters.
He said his fighters had killed many Ethiopian soldiers, but there
was no independent verification of that.
Experts say Sharif has little influence over Islamist hardliners including
the al Shabaab group, which the United States accuses of having links
to Osama bin Laden's al Qaeda.
At a news conference, Sharif condemned the bloodshed and urged the
opposition to unite.
"All Islamists must stop fighting and resolve their differences
at the negotiation table," he told reporters.
"We are very disappointed with those who claim jihad and attack
Ethiopian troops who have already agreed to pull out."
A local rights group said on Wednesday fighting had killed 16,210
civilians since the start of last year, when allied Somali-Ethiopian
forces drove the Islamists from the capital.
About 1 million people have been uprooted, and 3.2 million -- more
than a third of the population -- need emergency aid. The chaos has
also helped fuel an explosion of piracy offshore. |
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