Shabelle Media Network (Mogadishu) – The second round of meeting by the Ethiopian military officials and elders of powerful Hawiye tribe in the Somalia capital Mogadishu Saturday has ended in failure after the Ethiopians informed the Hawiye men that they would carry out house to house search operations in the capital.
The meeting which lasted for several hours ended in deadlock after the Ethiopian officials told the elders that they could not accept what is going on in Mogadishu.
The spokesman for Hawiye tribe, Ahmed Dirie told Shabelle Media that the Ethiopians want to launch massive military operation in the capital searching for weapons and terrorists.
“They have told us that we fulfilled the ceasefire but they want to do the job themselves for their interests, they told us that president Abdulahi Yusuf has his job and they own theirs,” said Ahmed Dirie quoting the Ethiopian officials at the meeting.
Mr. Dirie said they (the elders) have responded that they will defend themselves against any aggression saying that the Ethiopians have no right to do whatever they want in this country.
Mr. Dirie accused the Ethiopian government of taking the idea of president Abdulahi Yusuf based on that a clan occupies another clan suggesting Ethiopian should play a neutral role in Somalia affairs.
Asked whether they had contacted with the government officials over the issue, Dirie said they made no contact with anyone and the government will hold the responsibility of the consequences.
The Hawiye spokesman called on the international community to make intervention into what he called ‘the extremism of the Ethiopian troops conducting in Mogadishu’
Nevertheless, if the ceasefire truce broken what is expected is major bloody confrontation that will cause humanitarian crisis.
On Thursday, the traditional elders of Hawiye tribe and Ethiopian military officials agreed on ceasefire deal over the fighting in the capital.
It was a beautiful morning and we all arrived early in order to get a seat, as it was rumored that they would only be allowing a limited number of people inside the courtroom today.
There was an unusual feeling of excitement in the air, and even the most skeptical among us dared hope that today was THE day. All the regulars were there—the ferenj (journalists , observers, and diplomats) crowding the front rows, the immediate family members behind to the left, and additional relatives, friends and supporters left to fill in the gaps.
As usual, we had time to kill. After the greetings, speculations and words of encouragement were exchanged, casual conversation began to wane and the defendants had still not appeared.
Finally, shortly after 10 o’clock, they were brought in and everyone sprang to their feet, waving and smiling (now skilled in the art of communicating without words.) The prisoners looked well and flashed us triumphant thumbs-up as they filed in. They appeared overjoyed to see one another again, and we silently interpreted this scene as the appropriate prelude to their immediate release.
After about 15 minutes everyone was settled in their seats and the judges filed in.
Leul. Momhammed…When it was clear that Judge Adil would not be present (a fact that was neither acknowledged nor recorded), all hope instantly evaporated.
The session was over less than 5 minutes later.
The trial would once again be adjourned, due to the “complexity of the case”, we were told. At first, the date of May 9th was given, which was almost immediately corrected to April 9th. By way of excuse, the judge assured us that they had first intended to resume proceedings on March 30th, but couldn’t because it was a holiday. Then he hesitated again, and consulted the other, amidst disproving murmers from the crowd. After a few moments of confusion, he again corrected himself and announced that the trial would definitely resume the following Friday (the 30th). He announced that on this date the court would make their final ruling and then repeated that this would be the “last one”.
(It is amazing, really. He must have spoken less than 5 sentences–which he had over two weeks to prepare–and he still managed to get it wrong not once, but twice!)
There were sighs and tears from family members, and frustration was evident on the faces of all in attendance.
Elders from the dominant clan in the Somali capital, Mogadishu, have reached an informal truce with the Ethiopian army after two days of heavy fighting.
More than 20 people have died in clashes between insurgents and Ethiopia-backed government forces.
The Ethiopian army last year helped the interim government drive out an Islamist group, which was largely drawn from Mogadishu’s dominant Hawiye clan.
But there are reports that the ceasefire has already broken down.
Correspondents say it is too early to determine exactly what is going on but one resident in the south of the city said he had heard a number of large explosions and machine gunfire.
A government official, who did not want to be identified, told the BBC he had heard that Ethiopian tanks had been firing on buildings occupied by Islamist insurgents.
He said he had heard reports that a truce had been signed but he had no details and agreed that the resumption of fighting in the past few hours threw doubt onto whether a truce had been effective.
Meanwhile, the Somali government has ordered the Dubai-based TV channel Al-Jazeera to close its Mogadishu base following its coverage of the fighting.
Significant
Earlier, a Hawiye clan spokesman said that the elders had agreed with Ethiopian military officials to implement a ceasefire.
“After serious discussions on the current political situation and on the renewed violence, we agreed with the Ethiopian military officials to implement a ceasefire,” AFP news agency quotes Ugas Abdi Dahir Mohamed as saying.
The BBC’s Mohammed Olad Hassan in Mogadishu says at the meeting it was discussed how government troops would withdraw from Hawiye clan strongholds.
The latest fighting – described as the heaviest since the Islamists fell – started when pro-government forces tried to take control of these areas.
The bodies of government soldiers were dragged through the streets and set on fire.
Our correspondent says that although the deal is informal, it could be significant as the Hawiye clan is powerful in Mogadishu.
Mistrusted
The transitional government is led by President Abdullahi Yusuf, who is neither a Hawiye nor from Mogadishu.
He is a Darod from the Puntland region and is accused by the Hawiye of precipitating this crisis by bringing in his own militiamen and relying on the mistrusted Ethiopians.
The withdrawal of Ethiopian troops from the country was also discussed at the meeting, our reporter says.
Ethiopian troops have been gradually handing over responsibilities to an African Union force which has been deploying to Mogadishu this month to try and bring stability to the city.
The interim government has blamed remnants of the Union of Islamic Courts (UIC) for escalating violence in the capital.
Somalia enjoyed a six-month lull in the insecurity that had dogged the country for the past 16 years when the UIC took power last year.
But insecurity has returned to the city and the UN estimates some 40,000 people have fled from Mogadishu since February.
Elders from the dominant clan in the Somali capital, Mogadishu, have reached an informal truce with the Ethiopian army after two days of heavy fighting.
More than 20 people have died in clashes between insurgents and Ethiopia-backed government forces.
The Ethiopian army last year helped the interim government drive out an Islamist group, which was largely drawn from Mogadishu’s dominant Hawiye clan.
But there are reports that the ceasefire has already broken down.
Correspondents say it is too early to determine exactly what is going on but one resident in the south of the city said he had heard a number of large explosions and machine gunfire.
A government official, who did not want to be identified, told the BBC he had heard that Ethiopian tanks had been firing on buildings occupied by Islamist insurgents.
He said he had heard reports that a truce had been signed but he had no details and agreed that the resumption of fighting in the past few hours threw doubt onto whether a truce had been effective.
Meanwhile, the Somali government has ordered the Dubai-based TV channel Al-Jazeera to close its Mogadishu base following its coverage of the fighting.
Significant
Earlier, a Hawiye clan spokesman said that the elders had agreed with Ethiopian military officials to implement a ceasefire.
“After serious discussions on the current political situation and on the renewed violence, we agreed with the Ethiopian military officials to implement a ceasefire,” AFP news agency quotes Ugas Abdi Dahir Mohamed as saying.
The BBC’s Mohammed Olad Hassan in Mogadishu says at the meeting it was discussed how government troops would withdraw from Hawiye clan strongholds.
The latest fighting – described as the heaviest since the Islamists fell – started when pro-government forces tried to take control of these areas.
The bodies of government soldiers were dragged through the streets and set on fire.
Our correspondent says that although the deal is informal, it could be significant as the Hawiye clan is powerful in Mogadishu.
Mistrusted
The transitional government is led by President Abdullahi Yusuf, who is neither a Hawiye nor from Mogadishu.
He is a Darod from the Puntland region and is accused by the Hawiye of precipitating this crisis by bringing in his own militiamen and relying on the mistrusted Ethiopians.
The withdrawal of Ethiopian troops from the country was also discussed at the meeting, our reporter says.
Ethiopian troops have been gradually handing over responsibilities to an African Union force which has been deploying to Mogadishu this month to try and bring stability to the city.
The interim government has blamed remnants of the Union of Islamic Courts (UIC) for escalating violence in the capital.
Somalia enjoyed a six-month lull in the insecurity that had dogged the country for the past 16 years when the UIC took power last year.
But insecurity has returned to the city and the UN estimates some 40,000 people have fled from Mogadishu since February.
Yet another delay occurred today in the Ethiopian trial of Yacob Hailemariam, a former Norfolk State University business professor arrested after 2005 election protests in his home country.
That means he and more than 70 co-defendants facing treason and genocide charges must wait to hear whether they’ll be released or their trial will continue. They deny the charges, calling them politically motivated, and Amnesty International has labeled them “prisoners of conscience.”
If convicted, Hailemariam has said, he could be sentenced to death.
Today’s was the third trial postponement in two months. It was confirmed by the office of U.S. Rep. Mike Honda, D-California, which has been tracking the case. The Ethiopian court set a new date of March 30.
The next day, Hailemariam’s wife and son are scheduled to pick up on his behalf a Distinguished Career Award from the Virginia Social Science Association in Richmond. It will recognize his almost 20 years of teaching at Norfolk State, as well as his human rights work with the United Nations and reform efforts in Ethiopia.
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Reach Matthew Bowers at (757) 222-3893 or [email protected]
Mogadishu (Sh.M.Network) A cargo aircraft that was flying over low level has been shot down by unknown gunmen with anti aircraft rocket over eastern the Somalia capital Mogadishu late Friday.
The plane which took off the airport around 5:00pm local time has got crashed after it was hit by a rocket fired from the ground as witnesses say.
The Arabic Satellite Channel of Al-Jazeera quoting AU military sources reports that 11 African Union peacekeeping soldiers onboard have been killed in the plane accident.
But witnesses told Shabelle they heard the sound of a rocket fired into the aircraft which caught on fire and sent huge thick cloud smoke in the sky and then fall into the ground.
In an interview with Shabelle Radio, the spokesman for the AU peacekeeping mission in Somalia Paddy Ankunda said they are investigating the cause of the crash and what the plane was.
He said he is now meeting with government officials over the matter and they will soon report on the accident.
http://www.shabelle.net/news/ne2612.htm
Shabelle Media Network Somalia
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