President Kibaki shakes hands with Somali President Abdillahi Yusuf as the Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi looks on during informal consultations at State House, Nairobi yesterday . Photo/PPS.

Story by LUCAS BARASA

Nairobi, September 06, 2006 – Five African countries yesterday resolved to deploy peace-keepers to Somalia despite opposition, mainly by the Islamic Courts Union (ICU).

President Kibaki chaired a meeting attended by Somalia's President Abdillahi Yusuf and Ethiopian prime minister Meles Zenawi in Nairobi yesterday where it was decided that efforts to deploy the forces be speeded up.

Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni, who had been expected to attend, failed to turn up throwing the meeting into confusion. It had been transformed from a summit of Heads of State into informal talks until it was confirmed that Mr. Museveni had sent his defense minister Amama Mbabazi to represent him. The venue of the meeting was also changed from Kenyatta International Conference Centre in Nairobi to State House in the city at the last minute.

Read communiqué

Foreign Affairs minister Raphael Tuju read a communiqué on behalf of Kenya, Uganda, Sudan, Somalia and Ethiopia governments.

"We were going to make major decisions and until we got the confirmation, the meeting had assumed informal dimension," said Mr. Tuju.

Sudan President Omar El Bashir also sent his Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Mr. El Wasilla Alsaman to represent him while Djibouti and Eritrea leaders sent apologies.

The meeting coincided with demonstrations organized by ICU in Somalia's capital Mogadishu against deployment of any foreign peace keepers to the country.

It also came a day after the Somali Federal Government and the Islamic group signed an agreement for formation of joint national army.

ICU leader, Sheikh Sheriff Ahmed, who arrived in the country on Saturday and was expected to be invited to the talks to help find a lasting solution to the war in the country, did not attend.

Yesterday, Mr. Tuju who is the Igad council of ministers chairman, announced that he would be meeting the UN Security Council later this month to urge it to lift an arms embargo to allow deployment of troops to Somalia.

"ICU and others might be opposed to deployment of soldiers to Somalia because they do not understand the Igad forces' mandate," he said.

The Igad force is supposed to protect the Transitional Federal Government and Institutions, help train civilian protection force and establish a united civilian protection force for the whole of Somalia, including breakaway Somaliland and Puntland," said Mr. Tuju.

Police duty

"It is not supposed to engage in any activity of offensive nature to Somali people. They will not do police duty," he said.

Mr. Tuju said even warlords who were chased away from parts of Somalia by ICU had opposed deployment of foreign troops adding that "Igad will not change its plans".

"We have a path to follow. We cannot be held hostage not to move forward," the minister said but added that Igad was ready to negotiate with those opposed to the deployment.

Asked why it had taken long for Igad to act on deployment plans, Mr. Tuju said the delay was caused by the UN arms embargo to Somalia and lack of enough resources.

He said the deployment of peace keepers would provide a better environment for talks to bring lasting peace to Somalia.

"We want to train Somalis to manage their own affairs and meanwhile, the negotiations can go on," he said.

He said any militia could overrun the Somalia transitional government and ICU if forces were not deployed to the country.

Agreement

The agreement between the ICU and transitional government representatives in Khartoum, Sudan, Mr. Tuju said, "cannot prevent the deployment'.

"If the situation changes the Heads of State and Government will meet and change course," he said.

The minister said Igad had agreed that Somalia's neighboring country should not deploy troops to Somalia "to avoid being sucked into local politics".

Sudan, Uganda and Eritrea could present the troops, Mr. Tuju said, but only Uganda had promised to do so. He urged other African countries to volunteer.

Somali minister Ismael Hurreh blamed the fall of the Transitional Government for Somalia formed in 2000 in Djibouti to lack of a peace-keeping force and welcomed its deployment.

"People opposed to the deployment don't want the national government to function. They want status quo to remain," he said.

Yesterday, Ethiopia, Kenya, Somalia, Sudan and Uganda appealed for financial and material support for the peace mission.

Source: The Daily Nation

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