Somali Police Open Fire To Disperse Anti-AU Demonstration

Source: easyBourse

15 September 2006

BAIDOA, Somalia (AP)--Police fired into the air and arrested several demonstrators who staged a protest Friday in support of an Islamic group vying for authority in Somalia and against calls for the deployment of peacekeepers here.
Around 100 demonstrators had taken to the streets in Baidoa, the seat of the almost powerless transitional government that has appealed for help from foreign peacekeepers. Six people were arrested.
Several large demonstrations have been staged in the capital, Mogadishu, by Islamic leaders who have challenged the government and who oppose foreign peacekeepers. But this was the first in the government's stronghold of Baidoa, 250 kilometers from the capital.
"We had heard of the demonstration and we immediately sent troops to pre-empt it," said Mohammud Adan Barbar, governor of Baidoa.
On Wednesday the African Union endorsed an ambitious plan to deploy 3,500 peacekeepers by October. The mission is expected to cost $34 million a month.
The Islamic fighters who seized the capital and much of southern Somalia in June have imposed strict religious rule in their territory. Somalia's official government exercises little authority, while the Islamic group is credited with bringing a semblance of order to the country after years of anarchy. But some of the Islamic leaders have been linked to al-Qaida and there are fears of an emerging, Taliban-style regime.
Earlier Friday, militiamen allied to Somalia's government took up defensive positions in the strategic port town of Kismayo after a key leader in the rival Islamic group arrived for talks on the town's future.
Fears of fighting in Kismayo, 420 kilometers southwest of Mogadishu, have sparked an exodus to neighboring Kenya with 300, mainly women and children, arriving each day, the U.N.'s refugee agency said Friday.
Somalis are also fleeing the capital to avoid recruitment by warlords or the Islamic group, and Baidoa, fearing fighting. Kenya had already received 22,000 Somali refugees since the beginning of the year.
In Brussels Friday, the European Union cautioned against foreign interference in Somalia, in an apparent message to Ethiopia and Eritrea who have both been accused of sending troops into the territory of their unstable neighbor.
The E.U. offered its support to talks between Somalia's weak government and the Islamic group.
Ethiopia has threatened to "crush" the Islamic fighters if they seek to overthrow the Somali government and has reportedly sent troops to three Somali towns. The Somali government has accused Ethiopia's regional rival Eritrea of sending in troops at the invitation of the Islamic group.