ETHIOPIA: Four injured by landmines along border with EritreaCan Somalia ever be normal? After 13 years of clan warfare and lawlessness, Somalia once more has a government, led by a president and a prime minister. The problem is that the capital, Mogadishu, remains too dangerous for them to work in. President Abdullahi Yusuf is treated as a visiting head of state, enjoying red carpet treatment and tight security in Kenya, where members of a transitional parliament elected him. But in Somalia, there is no police force capable of guaranteeing his security, and that of his ministers, in a country with an estimated 60,000 armed militiamen. Moreover, sceptics abound after the failure of 13 previous attempts to set up a new government for Somalia. Some say this time will be different because Somalis are tired of fighting, and that all of Somalia's neighbors and factions are included for the first time. Crazy
Following the disaster of the United States intervention in 1993, which ended after Somali gunmen were filmed dragging the bodies of US troops through the streets, few western powers are willing to risk the lives of their soldiers in Somalia. Before Mr. Yusuf was elected, all the warlords pledged on the Koran to disarm their militias but in Mogadishu, there is no sign of this happening - there are just as many armed men on their checkpoints as before. 'Write cheques'
Somalia's neighbors and donor countries have spent two years and some $10m on the peace talks, which culminated in Mr Yusuf’s election, but they are only now turning their attention to the question of government security. Builders or destroyers?
"These are the people who have destroyed our country, how can they rebuild it?" asked one man, who did not want to be named. But others say it is better to have them inside the process than outside. "The cabinet will have to be a mixture of sinecures to keep the warlords happy and technocrats to do the work," said one western diplomat closely involved in the peace process. Terror and migration The other question is whether all men who have been fighting each other for so many years will be able to work together. Again, naming the warlords as ministers is intended to give them a stake in the new peace but Mr. Aideed says there has still not been any reconciliation.
There are no public hospitals, camels use the runway of the main international airport to graze and business vehicles are stopped every few kilometres at a checkpoint where militiamen, invariably chewing khat, a mild stimulant, use AK-47s to extort money. Amidst this anarchy, there are very real fears that terror groups could set up training camps - one reason why the international community has spent so much time and money on bringing peace and stability back to Somalia. Mr Yusuf quickly pledged to move against any such groups. Apart from humanitarian concerns, the other reason is the flow of Somali refugees to the west. Until recently, Somalia was the country providing the highest number of asylum-seekers in the UK. There are between one and three million Somalis living abroad. Sick leader Somalia's clan divisions were at the heart of the long civil war. Mr Yusuf is from the Darod clan, based in the north, whereas Mogadishu is home to their Hawiye rivals. Furthermore, the former army colonel has a slightly brutal reputation. But I did not meet a single person in Mogadishu who said they did not want him to be their leader. "I just want a government, any government will do," one man told me. The question is whether those who have been fighting to rule Somalia for so many years will be content to be mere ministers. One of Somalia's most famous singers, Muktar "Idi" Ramadan, is not sure. "They all still want to be president and we cannot have 15 presidents in Somalia," he said. And Hussein Aideed implicitly agrees. He says that one reason why Mr Yusuf was elected was that he is 70 years old and in poor health. Fourteenth time lucky? That raises the prospect of factional fighting breaking out again, long before the new institutions have had time to take root and ensure a smooth succession. But Somalis are hoping that such gloomy scenarios do not materialise - and that their country can become "normal" again. Compared to some countries destroyed by years of civil war, Somalia does have two advantages. Some of the Somalis abroad are highly trained and could make a big difference if they could be persuaded that it is safe to return home.
ETHIOPIA: Four injured by landmines along border with Eritrea
our Ethiopians have been injured along the disputed border with Eritrea after a spate of blasts from freshly planted landmines, a senior UN official said last month. Phil Lewis, head of the UN’s Mine Action Coordination Centre (MACC), said three anti-tank mines had exploded and damaged vehicles in the last month. Another landmine was discovered before it exploded. They were the first of newly planted landmines along the 1,000 km contested frontier that has separated Ethiopia and Eritrea since early 2004. "These are all newly laid landmines," Lewis told reporters in the Ethiopian capital, Addis Ababa. "They are of a concern because there have been four of them in the last month. These weapons are indiscriminate so anyone in the wrong place at the wrong time could be killed." He said they were unaware who had planted the landmines. All of the incidents had taken place close to Humera, in the far western border region, some 850 km north of Addis Ababa. One landmine was planted on a road used as a supply route for the Ethiopian army, who are dug in opposite Eritrean forces along the border. The others were planted on side roads. "There have been four of these anti-tank mines discovered since 25 March," he said. One was discovered freshly covered. Three others detonated under a water truck and a truck picking up stones, Lewis said. "They are all on side roads," he noted. "They have not been put on main roads; they have been put on agricultural roads. "The landmines are Belgium-made and were used during the two-and-a-half year conflict that broke out in May 1998 and claimed tens of thousands of lives. Details of the attacks have only just emerged after UN peacekeepers carried out investigations into the blasts and the landmine that was found. The two countries ended their conflict in December 2000 with a peace deal to resolve their border dispute. A ruling by an independent commission on the new frontier was, however, rejected by Ethiopia. In 2003, about 40 cases of newly planted landmines were recorded in the region, while two cases were reported in 2004. Around 30 people have been killed from newly laid mines. Since the UN peacekeepers arrived in the two countries there have been more than 400 casualties from landmine blasts, killing about 115 people.
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