Somali warlords have reacted
angrily to a decision by the new interim president to recruit
militiamen into a new police force.
The warlords describe the
decision as "risky" and have vowed to prevent the
deployment of the force.
I
will not allow the so-called police to exercise any
authority in my area of responsibility
|
Osman
Ali Atto
|
At the weekend a committee
appointed by President Abdulkassim Salat Hassan began a
recruitment drive for at least 4,000 police officers to restore
law and order in the capital, Mogadishu.
Somalia has been without a
central government since 1991 when President Siad Barre was
overthrown, plunging the country into civil turmoil. Mogadishu has
been carved up by rival faction leaders, dubbed warlords.
Tension
One of them, Hussein Haji Bod
based in north Mogadishu, said such a force could increase tension
in the country.
President Hassan:
pledged to restore security
|
Another, Osman Hassan Ali Atto
based in south Mogadishu, warned that any attempt to impose a
security force on the people of Mogadishu could ignite violence in
the volatile city.
"I will
not allow the so-called police to exercise any authority in my
area of responsibility," he said.
Another leader, Musa Sudi
Yalahow, threatened to mobilise his militiamen "for the
defence of Somalia" if the police force was deployed in the
capital.
But the
chairman of the south Mogadishu Islamic court, Sheikh Hassan Dahir
Aweys, said religious groups would back the policing of the city.
"We must strengthen the
new government and be wary of actions of non-believers who want us
to follow their leadership, " said Sheikh Aweys.
Restoring
security is a key pledge of President Hassan
From the newsroom of the BBC
___________________________________________________________________________________
Somali warlords
condemn new president's bid to create police force
MOGADISHU, Sept. 11 (AFP)
-
- Somali warlords on Sunday reacted angrily to a decision by the
country's new president to start recruiting police officers for
lawless Mogadishu and vowed to prevent the deployment of the
force.
A committee
appointed by President Abdulkassim Salat Hassan on Saturday
began interviewing militiamen interested in serving in the new
police force.
"The
creation of a police unit loyal to one group in the Somali capital
is a risky and an emotional action that could spread animosity in
Mogadishu," Hussein Haji Bod, a north Mogadishu
faction leader told AFP.
He described as
"unilateral" the decision to create the police force. Osman
Hassan Ali "Atto", who controls part of south
Mogadishu termed Salat's bid to form a police force as a
"dream". "I will not allow the so-called police to
exercize any authority in my area of responsibility," Atto
said.
He
cautioned that an attempt to impose a security force on the people
of Mogadishu could ignite violence in the volatile city.
Another warlord, Musa
Sudi Yalahow, threatened to mobilise his militiamen "for
the defence of Somalia" if the police force was deployed in
the capital.
But
the chairman of the south Mogadishu Islamic court Sheikh Hassan
Dahir Aweys said religious groups would fight those opposed to
the policing of Mogadishu.
"We
must strengthen the new government and be wary of actions of
non-believers who want us to follow their leadership,"
said Sheikh Aweys. Previous attempts to set up a security force
for Mogadishu failed because of clan feuding and rivalry among
warlords.
Salat
was elected by a parliament-in-exile formed in Arta, in
neighbouring Djibouti, on August 25 as part of a process aimed at
restoring law and order in Somalia, which has been without a
government since the overthrow of the dictatorship of the late Mohamed
Siad Barre.
Salat said
last week that his top priorities are to appoint a prime minister
and to begin to disarm the country's militia
groups(!!!).