| Home | Politics | Human Rights | Water | Economy | Education | Sci & Tech | Culture | Sport |
29 December 2006
Addis Ababa, December 28, 2006 (Addis Ababa) - Prime Minister Meles Zenawi has said the Union of Islamic Courts has simply melted away and its grassroots militia have surrendered and abandoned Mogadishu to their clan bases on Wednesday evening and Thursday morning hours.
In a press conference he gave today at around 2:00 PM to local and foreign journalists, Prime Minister Meles said in the process of their disbanding and scatter out of Mogadishu, the members of the extremist force distributed the guns under their control to unemployed youths in the town to create havoc on the wake of their withdrawal.
Citing reports coming from Mogadishu, the Prime Minister said these newly armed unemployed youth have now been involving in widespread acts of violence and robbery in the town.
Meles said, now that the Shura council which preside over the fundamentalist leadership of the UIC has crumpled, the existence of the so called UIC is no more. Currently, there are only remnants of the extremist group moving towards the seacoast.
Up to the time of the press conference, 75 per cent of the mission against the terrorists has been accomplished, Meles said. There are works to do yet though, he added.
According to the Prime Minister, currently the UIC grassroots militiamen have joined back to their clan areas, surrendering their weapons to their respective clan leaders. "We have nothing to settle with them as they are now peaceful citizens of Somalia."
He indicated the need for the work of tracking down on the retreating so called Shabaab, a force formed by the extremist leadership, the group of international terrorists, and the remnant of the Eritrean army so as to prevent them from establishing themselves again and destabilize Somalia and the region.
The Transitional Federal Government and Ethiopia have been deliberating on ways of salvaging Mogadishu from the on-going violence, he said.
Ethiopia is consulting with the TFG and Mogadishu elders, Prime Minister Meles said, adding the necessary measure would be taken as per the counsel expected from this consultation. Up until the time of the press conference, the TFG and Ethiopian forces were at the thresholds of Mogadishu going after retreating terrorists, he said.
Prime Minister Meles said the joint communique the AU, IGAD and LAS issued concerning the situation in Somalia is consistent with the stand Ethiopia has been pursuing.
Meles reiterated that Ethiopia's object is defending the danger posed against it, and upon completion of this mission the Ethiopian army would withdraw from Somalia.
He said the mission will continue until those responsible are put under control. "We are planning to stay there for month hopefully it would be completed in days if not a few weeks at most, but once we have done that we are out of it ".
The Prime Minister said his government would provide support to the TFG in the latter's efforts to stabilize the situation in Mogadishu.
He said there is no apprehension that the UIC extremist leadership might have regrouped and launched guerilla and this in view of the fact that the fundamentalist leadership has no mass base in Somalia. This, however, will be determined by the success of the TFG in creating an all-inclusive communication, he said, and expressed his belief that the TFG will succeed in this.
Meles said no government, but Sha'ebia, has objected to the legality of measures and the right to defense of Ethiopia to repulse the acts of terror and aggressions. He said Ethiopia is fighting to safeguard its sovereignty.
He said the support provided by the Ethiopian people on this anti-terrorism campaign has been more than enough. He said, the leader of the fundamentalist force Sheikh Hassan Daher Aweis left Mogadishu this morning.
The Ethiopian mission in Somalia is limited and targeted at defending against the attacks of the extremist force on Ethiopia and Somalia. This accomplished, Somalis will solve their internal problem. He said Ethiopia may provide support to help Somalis solve their problem provided that it is requested to do so and provided that it has the capacity.
However, he said, what Somalis demand is beyond the capacity of Ethiopia. Their demand is a huge humanitarian relief assistance and a peacekeeping force, he indicated.
Meles said, "The US have not contributed a single bullet, a single soldier or a single military equipment to this operation...."
"...We have with the US long standing arrangements to share intelligence on terrorist activities in the neighborhood that sharing of intelligence has not been stopped during the conflict. This is the sum total of our close partnership with the US and the so called involvement of the US in the Somali crisis."
(ENA)