Information service of the Pontifical Mission Societies since 1927
Mogadishu (Agenzia Fides) - With the humanitarian emergency caused by floods affecting vast areas of Somalia in recent months still critical, threatening clouds of war now appear on the horizon. Both the national interim government and the Islamic Courts are preparing for conflict for control of the city of Baidoa where the interim government is based.
Military deployment is accompanied by inflammatory statements from leaders of both sides. Today 12 December Sheik Yusuf Mohamed Siad, Inda'ade, defence chief of the Islamic Courts which control Mogadishu declared “if the Ethiopians do not evacuate our land within the week we will attack them and force them to leave our country”. The Islamic Courts accuse Ethiopia of sending troops to support the interim government. Whereas a statement issued by the interim government accused the Courts of receiving military aid from Eritrea and allowing thousands of fundamentalists to enter Somalia. This situation could lead to a conflict which involves the whole Horn of Africa and even other regions.
The Islamic Courts rejected a UN Security Council decision to send 8,000 peacekeepers to Somalia, and lift the arms embargo imposed in 1992. The UN resolution established that the peace force, formed by the African Union and the Inter-government Development Authorities, (the regional union of east African countries), will have an initial 6 month mandate and will not include troops from countries bordering on Somalia (this excludes Ethiopia unpopular with the Courts). Its task will be to protect the interim government, recognised by the international community, assist the re-composition of local security forces, oversee dialogue between the interim government and the Islamic Courts and guarantee security for those involved in the negotiations.
Preparations for war threaten to overshadow the humanitarian disaster caused by the worst rains in the last 50 years. People continue to die of hardship, malaria and intestinal diseases. The situation is expected to become more critical since the rain season which usually ends in November, will last until January. The fields are underwater and food is ever more scarce. Chaos at the political and administrative level and non existent conditions of security discourage intervention on the part of international organisations, opening the way for aid organisations connected with fundamentalism. This has created a perverse spiral of war, extremism and natural disasters. (L.M.) (Agenzia Fides 12/12/2006 righe 38 parole 463)
