JEDDAH, 5 December 2002 — The Somali peace talks in Kenya have entered a crucial second phase. A radical Somali Muslim group was named last week by US officials as the top suspect in the the Mombasa attacks. The group, Al-Ittihaad Al-Islamiya, has a record of violence both in Somalia and Ethiopia.
According to the Daily Nation newspaper, President Daniel arap Moi’s special envoy for Somalia, Elijah Mwangale, said on Monday that six committees had been formed to address the following core issues: demobilization, disarmament and re-integration, land and property rights, economic recovery, institution building and resource mobilization, regional and international affairs, conflict resolution and reconciliation, federalism and a provisional charter for the country.
Mwangale urged the participants to speed up discussions as the Somali people are continuing to suffer every day. The talks, which began on Oct. 15, have taken longer than expected due to differences over clan and minority group representation, the late arrival of some warlords and procedures. Mwangale said the number of delegates had been reduced to 180 belonging to different committees. Each committee has experts from donor countries and the World Bank.
Somali participants at the talks — including the warlords — have condemned the Mombasa attacks and sought to distance themselves from Al-Ittihaad. They have expressed shock and sadness at the terrorist acts. A top Somali cleric, Sheikh Ali Mahmud Dhere, has denied Western accusations of links to Ittihaad. He has condemned the attacks in Kenya but added that the violence was the result of what he called oppression.
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On Tuesday the UN’s World Food Program (WFP) condemned Somali groups for obstructing efforts to deliver relief food supplies to southern Somalia. In a statement, the agency said various local authorities and militiamen had recently imposed “major obstacles” to the road transport of some 700 metric tons of food. According to WFP, the 24-truck convoy took three weeks — normally three-days — to travel from Marka toWajid because it was held up at 40 checkpoints.
“What should have been a quick and hassle-free operation, has instead taken three weeks of long and painstaking negotiations,” Robert Hauser, the WFP country representative in Somalia, said. “It is indicative of the extreme difficulties in conducting relief work in this part of Somalia.”
The statement said this was the first WFP food convoy to reach the town since June when the agencies there closed their offices due to insecurity. Southern Somalia in general suffers from chronic food insecurity and this year’s harvest in Bakol is less than half its pre-war level. WFP plans to send another food convoy within the next two weeks and, it added, cooperation on the part of local authorities is crucial to maintain the provision of live-saving food assistance.
“Obstructions to the provision of food aid are totally unacceptable,” said Hauser, “We are in the business of saving lives and this food is urgently needed. Somalis should be the first to assist us in getting the relief food to those who need it — they should not be the ones creating difficulties for their own people.”
