Somali militia attack revives fears of chaos
Source: Reuters
(Adds details, UN, Kenya police) By Sahal Abdulle MOGADISHU, Jan 4 (Reuters) - Somali gunmen attacked an oil tanker truck near Mogadishu on Thursday, wounding three people and raising fears of a return to the clan violence that had largely stopped during six months of Islamist rule. And just two days after an ambush killed at least one Ethiopian soldier in south Somalia, a hand grenade was thrown at Ethiopian troops backing the interim government in the capital, but no one was hurt in the incident, a resident said. But in a boost for the administration's efforts to pacify the chaotic Horn of Africa country after a two-week war that ousted the Islamists, Uganda said it was ready to send peacekeepers there as soon as its parliament approves the plan. The Somalia Islamic Courts Council (SICC), which had imposed sharia law across much of the south, abandoned the capital last week in the face of the advancing Ethiopian-government force. Within hours of the Islamists' departure, militiamen loyal to warlords ousted in June reappeared at checkpoints in the city where they used to rob, rape and murder civilians. Their return showed how easily Mogadishu could slide back into anarchy. "The militias fired three RPGs (rocket-propelled grenades). One of them hit us," the truck driver, who gave his name as Tusbah, told Reuters. "They were bandits who wanted money." Dozens of passengers riding on top of the truck fled as the gunmen fired automatic rifles before launching grenades. A compound where Ethiopian soldiers were staying in Mogadishu was later attacked with a hand grenade. The arrival of the Ethiopian-government force has been met with a mixture of jubilation, fear and protests. "I heard a big explosion and then a few seconds later heard gunshots. I understand the person who threw the grenade escaped and the Ethiopian shot at him. No one has been injured," said the resident, who lives nearby and who declined to be named. The attacks came on the last day of a three-day government deadline for Mogadishu residents and militia to turn in their guns. Few have been turned in. "I have an AK-47 (Kalashnikov rifle) and a pistol ... I will not surrender them because I do not see any trustworthy person to give them to," said a resident who declined to be named. "People have started burying their weapons." Deputy Defence Minister Salad Ali Jelle said forcible disarmament would begin at the weekend but a government source said this was yet to be finalised. DIPLOMATIC PUSH Analysts say the Islamists, joined by some foreign fighters, may launch an Iraqi-style insurgency against a government they see propped up by a hated, Christian-led power. The Somali government wants a foreign peacekeeping force, approved by the United Nations before the war, to be deployed as soon as possible. New U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on Thursday called for its quick deployment and welcomed Ethiopia's plan to pull it troops out of Somalia in a few weeks. Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni, meeting his Ethiopian counterpart Meles Zenawi in Addis Ababa, said parliament had to approve the deployment of the battalion Kampala has offered. But officials have expressed concerns about sending soldiers to Somalia, saying they need a clear mission and exit strategy. Meles also met U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs Jendayi Frazer. "Our view is that Somalis should try and set up an inclusive government based on dialogue. The international community should support the Somalia initiative," he said. The Ethiopian forces are helping Somali government troops hunt Islamist fighters who fled south from their last stronghold in the port of Kismayu on Monday, vowing to fight on. Kenyan local police commander, Johnstone Limo, said the forces were nearing the Kenyan border post Amuma in their hunt. "They are pursuing members of the (SICC) militias who have been seen around Amuma," he told Reuters. The United States has deployed warships off the Somali coast to hunt fleeing Islamists and Nairobi has declared the land frontier closed, leaving hundreds fleeing the fighting unable to cross over to seek refuge at camps, aid workers say. (Additional reporting by Guled Mohamed and Farrah Robleu in Mogadishu, Sahra Abdi in Kismayu, Tsegaye Tadesse in Addis Ababa, Noor Ali in Garissa and Marie-Louise Gumuchian and George Obulutsa in Nairobi)
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