JEDDAH, 21 November 2003 — Transitional National Government President Abdi Qassim Salad and several faction leaders, who left here on Wednesday for Djibouti after performing Umrah, will jointly reopen Mogadishu’s seaport and airport in the coming two weeks, a member of the delegation said.
The TNG president signed last week in the Libyan capital Tripoli a reconciliation agreement with his former armed foes. Among those who accompanied the TNG leader were Mogadishu’s warlords Musse Sudi Yalahow, Osman Hassan Atto, Engineer Muhammad Hussein Addow, Barre Hirale of southern Juba Valley Alliance and other warlords and politicians who walked out of the ongoing Somali peace talks in Kenya.
“The TNG and representatives of the National Patriotic Council, an alliance of 15 faction leaders, have agreed to restore law and order Mogadishu, to reopen the city’s seaport and airport, and to establish the regional administration,” Ismail Moalim Musse, a TNG member of Parliament and member of the delegation, told Arab News.
“According to the peace accord, the airport and seaport will be reopened in the coming two weeks after restoring the security situation.” Since the withdrawal of the UN and US peace-keepers in 1995, Mogadishu’s seaport and airport have effectively been shut due to rivalry among various warlords fighting for control. Some businessmen with the help of the warlords have established their own smaller natural harbors and airstrips around the city. Taking advantage of the lack of a functioning government, they share the revenue from the facilities. Asked what would be the reaction of the owners of the private seaport and airport, Musse said a large number of a new police officers would be recruited and deployed all over the city.
***
The regional administrations of northeastern regions of Puntland have appealed for international assistance for thousands of people affected by shortage of food and water in the area, an official said on Wednesday. The regional minister for local government and rural affairs Ali Abdi Aware said that the problem was most acute in the Sool and Sanaag regions. He said the current drought hit the districts of Qardho, Iskushuban, and Badar Beyla, in Bari and Nugal Regions, and parts of Nugal Regions. “The Deyr rains (local rainy season from September to November) have failed this year in most areas. This, coupled with an already existing drought, has made matters even worse. In towns like Garowe, Bosaso and Qardho, we are already seeing the effect, with rural people building makeshift shelters on the fringes of the towns,” Aware was quoted as saying by a UN humanitarian website.
