POLITICS-SOMALIA: Talks About a Peacekeeping Force Prove Disruptive

By IPS Correspondents Reprint | | Print |

Joyce Mulama

NAIROBI, Mar 18 2005 (IPS) - Foreign affairs ministers from East Africa who met in Kenya have reportedly reached a compromise in discussions about a peacekeeping force that will allow Somalia’s interim government to relocate to the capital – Mogadishu.

At present the government is operating from the Kenyan capital of Nairobi because of insecurity in Somalia.

The Horn of Africa country descended into lawlessness in 1991, after tribal militias toppled dictator Mohamed Siad Barre. Its current government was set up in 2004 after about two years of talks held under the auspices of the Inter Governmental Authority on Development (IGAD) – a regional organisation.

IGAD had planned to deploy a 10,000-strong force in Somalia made up of troops from its member states which, along with Somalia, comprise Djibouti, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya, Sudan and Uganda. The force is intended to protect Somalia’s government when it returns to the country, as certain factions there are reluctant to cede power to a central authority.

However, a majority of Somali parliamentarians voted against the deployment on Thursday.

The gathering of legislators, held in a Nairobi hotel, also turned violent, with representatives exchanging blows and throwing chairs at each other. One member of parliament (MP) was said to have been seriously injured.

Certain MPs objected to the proposed inclusion of Ethiopian soldiers in the peacekeeping force, saying a history of uneasy relations between Addis Ababa and Mogadishu ruled out Ethiopian participation in the mission.

During the late 1970s, Somalia laid claim to and invaded the Ogaden region of Ethiopia, while Addis Ababa later supported a rebel movement in Somalia. Some faction leaders have threatened to attack the peacekeeping mission if it includes Ethiopian forces.

"This smells of sinister motives on the part of this country (Ethiopia). If it was part of the problems in Somalia, how can it be part of the solution? We are saying ‘yes’ to troops from any other countries – but not from this one," Asha Abdalla, a member of the 275-seat parliament, told IPS.

"If this country is allowed in Somalia, that will be the end of the new government. A new war will erupt in Somalia," she added. "I went to Mogadishu on the sixth of February, and despite people crying for peace they do not want Ethiopia. They said they would kill all their troops."

As a result, IGAD ministers have apparently decided against using troops from countries that border on Somalia – Djibouti, Ethiopia and Kenya. Instead, indications are that the peacekeeping mission will be made up of Ugandan and Sudanese troops, while the remaining IGAD states provide logistical assistance and training.

Donors have also looked askance on the inclusion of soldiers in the peacekeeping mission from Somalia’s immediate neighbours.

"We believe the deployment of IGAD forces in Somalia will destroy any chance of bringing stability to the Somali capital by peaceful means and will create an environment of deep suspicion throughout the country," the U.S. State Department said in a statement issued Thursday to the meeting of IGAD foreign affairs ministers.

"We do not plan to fund the deployment of IGAD troops in Somalia and are not prepared to support a U.N. Security Council mandate for IGAD deployment in Somalia," the statement added. The IGAD gathering, also attended by Arab League representatives, ended Friday.

The last peacekeeping mission sent to Somalia was deployed in 1992 to avert widespread famine in the country, where drought and civil war had put millions at risk of food shortages.

However, efforts by United Nations troops to disarm Somali militants were vigorously resisted.

A June 1993 attack by faction leader Mohammed Farah Aideed resulted in the death of 24 Pakistani peacekeepers. In October of the same year, hundreds of Somalis and 18 American soldiers were killed during a clash in Mogadishu – an incident which laid the ground for all peacekeepers to be withdrawn from Somalia by 1995.

Concerns about the composition of a new peacekeeping mission notwithstanding, IGAD has warned that time is running out for Somalia’s government to move to Mogadishu. During Thursday’s discussions, ministers also threatened to withhold aid from the government if it continued to work in exile.

While parliamentarians and ministers debate, arms are continuing to flow into Somalia – severely compromising future prospects for peace.

A report issued by the U.N. this week said weapons were being imported into the country at "a brisk and alarming rate", despite a 1992 arms embargo.