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05 June, 2007
MOGADISHU, Somalia: Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi made a surprise visit to Somalia on Tuesday, the highest ranking foreign government official to visit Mogadishu in more than a decade, as his troops try to protect this country's fragile government, officials said.
Ethiopia, the region's military powerhouse, was vital in helping the Somali government drive out radical Islamists who ruled much of the country for six months last year. But many in predominantly Muslim Somalia resent having troops from neighboring Ethiopia, which has a large Christian population. The countries fought two brutal wars, the last in 1977.
Meles "is paying a friendly visit to Somalia and now he is in talks with the president and the prime minister," Somali government spokesman Abdi Haji Gobdon told The Associated Press.
Ethiopia reopened its embassy in Somalia in late May for the first time in 30 years, even though Ethiopian troops come under regular insurgent attacks. On Monday, Ethiopian troops fired at a would-be suicide bomber speeding toward their base, blowing up the car and killing the bomber and a civilian standing nearby.
Ted Dagne, a specialist in African Affairs at the Congressional Research Service, the research arm of the U.S. Congress, said Meles' visit "doesn't really represent a new era in Ethiopian-Somali relations."
"For many Somalis, they see the presence of Ethiopian troops as an occupation force," he said.
In recent months, several top officials have made trips into Somalia. John Holmes, the U.N. undersecretary-general for humanitarian affairs, visited Mogadishu last month; the top U.S. diplomat for Africa, Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs Jendayi Frazer, was here in April.
Somalia descended into chaos in 1991, when warlords ousted longtime dictator Mohamed Siad Barre and then turned on one another. Meles has not set foot in Mogadishu for years, but he does have a history here. Under the protection of Barre, Meles organized the rebellion that brought him to power from a base in Mogadishu.
Peacekeepers have kept clear of Mogadishu for more than a decade, while much of the country was ruled by violence and clan law. The U.S. sent troops in 1992 as part of a U.N. relief operation for tens of thousands of starving civilians, but in 1993 clan militiamen shot down two Black Hawk helicopters and killed 18 American soldiers.
U.S. forces withdrew in 1994 and the U.N. peacekeeping operation in Somalia was eventually abandoned in 1995.
Somalia's government had struggled to survive since forming in 2004 with backing from the United Nations, and was sidelined by a radical Islamic group until Ethiopia's military intervened Dec. 24 and turned the tide.
But insurgents linked to the Islamic group, known as the Council of Islamic Courts, have launched a guerrilla war, saying the government is allowing Ethiopia to "occupy" the country. The U.S. has long accused the Islamic group of having ties to al-Qaida, which the council denies.