Ethiopian Troops Drove Somalis Militias to the Sea

Somalis transitional government Prime Minister, Ali Mohamed Ghedi has entered the capital Mogadishu heading an armoured convoy, a day after the Somali government's troops backed by the Ethiopian troops drove the militias out of the capital city of Somalia, BBC said.

Cheering crowds lined the streets to welcome the Somalis PM, who has declared a three months period of martial law. Some Somalis threw stones as the convoy and protested against Ethiopia but they fled when the forces opened fire on the air.

Ghedi said "Today is the beginning of a new life, new stabilisation and a new future for Somalia." He told the crowds that he believes most of the so called Union of Islamic Courts (UIC) militias were destroyed in the fighting. Thousands militiamen loyal to the UIC have now fled the city towards the sea where their second stronghold lies in the port of Kismayo. One of their leaders said they will never leave Somalia.

Ghedi held talks with clan leaders. He called for their cooperation and he said "This country has experienced anarchy and in order to restore security we need a strong hand, especially with freelance militias."

Meanwhile, Ethiopian Foreign Minister Seyom Mesfin has flown by helicopter to Baidoa for talks. He said the situation in Somalia is stable and very promising.

The African Union has called for Ethiopian troops to leave the country, while Ghedi said the Ethiopian troops will leave when they complete their help to the government to bring stability. Security Council failed to agree on a statement calling for the withdrawal of all foreign forces from Somalia, BBC said.

News says the UN flights are due to resume to Somalia today, after being suspended during the past week because of the fighting. The UN estimates about 30,000 people have been displaced during the fighting and causalities have been high.

Earlier this month UN reports say that at least 8,000 Ethiopian troops may be in the country, while rival Eritrea is said to have deployed some 2,000 troops in support of the UIC. News said the Eritrean President Isaias Afewerki denied his country had troops deployed in Somalia.

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Somalis to Resume Peace Talks

Hundreds of Somalis fled Baidoa in southern Somalia when the fighting continued between the Transitional Federal Government and the so-called Union of Islamic Courts today (Thursday). Confrontation between the two sides erupted on Tuesday a day before the arrival of the European Commissioner (EC) for Development and Humanitarian Aid, Louis Michel. Most of the fleeing people are agro-pastoralists, media sources reported.

Louis Michel arrived to Somalia to mediate between the Transitional Government and The so-called Union of Islamic Courts. The International delegate led an EC delegation to Baidoa the residence of the Transitional Government to talk with President Abdullahi Yusuf Ahmed and Prime Minister Ali Mohamed Gedi. He travelled to Mogadishu later for discussion with the so-called Union of Islamic Courts' leader, Sheikh Hassan Dahir Aweys and other leader in his group.

The head of the EC delegation concluded after talks his mission has achieved "a full success," and he announced that both sides were "reiterated their commitment to the Khartoum dialogue process and political solution to the Somali crisis".

Both parties appreciated the EC delegation, expressed their hope to achieve peace and agreed to resume peace talks and cease hostilities.

Hundreds of people have died in the last clashes. Commitment to peace talk from the UIC always seems as a hollow balloon, while the Khartoum peace talks are a real tragicomedy.

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UN Agrees to Peace Troops for Somalia!

The UN Security Council authorises a regional force to support Somalia's weak transitional government which faces pressures from Islamist militias, BBC says. The United States-led resolution, co-sponsored by Tanzania, Congo and Ghana, urged the Somali government to resume peace talks.

The resolution called to allow Somali government to re-arm after an arms embargo the government faces since 1992. The Security Council agrees to support an 8000 strong mission from the seven nations of east African body, Igad.

The resolution, adopted unanimously by the 15 nation council and said Somalia's transitional government represented the only route to achieve peace and stability in the country, which has been without effective central government since 1991.

Observers say it will take a long time for any peacekeepers to arrive and the resolution may be primarily intended to show symbolic support for the government.

However, the Islamic Courts (UIC) which seized the capital Mogadishu in June and took control of most of the country refused the resolution and said the will consider any foreign forces in the country as a foreign invasion which will be faced in turn by fighting.

Meanwhile, the UIC has declared war on Ethiopia which has twice fought wars over control of Ethiopia's large Somali-speaking region. Ethiopia's Deputy Foreign Minister, Tekeda Alemu has held direct talks in Djibouti with senior representatives of Somalia's Union of Islamic Courts.

Ethiopia has explained its support of the transitional government against the UIC. News says representatives from neighbouring nations, as well as Kenya's ambassador to Somalia took part in that meeting.

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