Dilemma Facing Somali President 

Posted to the Web Feb 22, 00:32

Nairobi:-As the deadline nears for re-location to Somalia, President-elect Abdullahi Yusuf remains in Nairobi and it is becoming increasingly clear that the new government is far form moving into and assuming authority in Mogadishu.

President Abdullahi

President Abdullahi’s request for a 20,000-strong African Union force to help him take control has been vehemently opposed by the warlords, many of them in his Cabinet, who are are keen to protect their turf. This has led to demonstrations and outbreaks of fresh violence.

The broad-based government led by Prime Minister Mohammed Ali Gedi instead turned out to be an unwieldy grouping of 47 ministers and an equal number of deputies.

The criterion of selection, it seems, was that one got a big-named ministry with regard to the size and amount of guns they have. The bigger and scarier the guns, the more the chances were to be big in the Cabinet.

President Abdullahi controls one of the largest armed factions, though many claim his power is limited to the hitherto breakaway state of Puntland. He will not be able to disarm the various clan militia, particularly the Hawiye, who fear revenge since they drove his Darod clan out of power in 1991.

Mr Aideed

The president still enjoys the support of Ethiopia which has backed him for many years, which makes other groups even more suspicious.

It was after his first term as president that he was voted out, but he refused to relinquish power and waged war on the new president, then Jama Ali Jama, whom he ousted with Ethiopian support.

Elections recently held in Puntland replaced Abdullahi with a Gen Adde Musa.

He also enjoys support form Libya, and former colonial power Italy, but his claim to leadership in both Puntland and Somalia remains tenuous. Hence, say rivals, his pleas for African Union troops.

As uncertainty looms over whether the government will eventually move form Nairobi to Somalia, the warlords who have fought for their bits of turf in the country remain a crucial factor.

Mr Qanyare

There is Hussein Farah Aideed, who is currently the Deputy Premier and Minister for Interior. What this means is that Hussein Aideed is now in charge of the police in Somalia as well as local government. Aideed, who has a military might of over 3,000 men, boasts control of the presidential palace in Mogadishu. Asked whether Aideed’s men will return the palace to the new government, Mohammed Sheikh Hassan, a Member of Parliament, doubts it: "I don’t think the militia will return it for free. They are demanding about seven to eight million dollars from the broke government in exchange for the villa."

He also doubts that Aideed will be able to persuade his soldiers to let go off the palace, insisting that he (Aideed) has lost control over his troops.

Aideed’s militia use technicals and have at least 12 armoured vehicles. Aideed generally inherited his position from his father who was killed in battle. The senior Aideed had close links with President Bashir of Sudan who, it is said, would send him shiploads of sugar which were sold to buy weapons. Aideed is believed to have, until two years ago, been getting arms from Eritrea which is a long-running enemy of Ethiopia.

Another Mogadishu warlord to reckon with is Mohamed Afrah Qanyare, the minister for National Security. Qanyare, whose real name is Dahir Qanyare Afrah, escaped from Somalia in 1972 while an army sergeant. He crossed over to Kenya but was arrested and later sent back to Somalia. He fled the country again and eventually made his way to Kampala, where he remained until Siad Barre was overthrown.

Qanyare returned to Mogadishu in 1991 and immediately became deputy chairman of the United Somali Congress and was appointed by the then interim president Ali Mahdi as Minister for Interior. He later teamed up with the senior Aideed, before establishing his own militia.

Part of his power now stems from the Daynille airstrip he built, which is kept busy with UN humanitarian flights as well as passenger and miraa flights. The airstrip, which is located about 12 km from Mogadishu, is preferred as it is considered safer. It is guarded by powerful technicals and armoured vehicles too.

Osman Ali Atto, Minister for Public Works and Housing, is yet another of Mogadishu’s dreaded warlords. Atto, who was at one time an aide to the late Gen Aideed, rose to power during the time of the ill-fated UN mission, Unosom. He made a career out of kidnapping and robbing Unosom soldiers of their weapons and military tanks. He also "acquired" from Unosom construction equipment which he uses to this day. His appointment as Minister for Public Works and Housing is probably a move to encourage him to surrender the tanks and construction equipment which the government will direly need in its reconstruction.

Then there is Musa Sudi Yalahow, Minister for Commerce. A devout Muslim and a former Madrassa teacher, he has no formal education, but is extremely wealthy. He made part of his wealth from Unosom water, sanitation and garbage collection contracts. He had a devoted disciple in young warlord Omar Mohamud "Finish".

But "Finish," who got his nickname from his enthusiasm in despatching enemies, later changed allegiance to Atto. His is Minister for Religious Affairs.

Both Atto and Qanyare have residential premises and booming businesses in Kenya.

President Abdullahi’s biggest challenge, if he is to enter Mogadishu, will be in persuading members of his own Cabinet to disarm their troops or turn them over to a unified central command.

With his pleas for "protection" from an African peace-keeping force already so loudly rejected, that will be a tall order.

Source:allafrica