Ethiopian troops quit Somali city, but no full withdrawal planned
By Aaron Maasho
ADDIS ABABA | Mon Jul 22, 2013 10:08am EDT
(Reuters) - Ethiopia has begun pulling troops out of a former rebel
stronghold in Somalia, but it has no plans for a complete withdrawal from
the fight against al Qaeda-linked insurgents, its foreign minister said on
Monday.
Somalia has enjoyed relative calm after military offensives by African Union
(AMISOM) peacekeepers and Ethiopian troops, who have pushed al Qaeda-allied
al Shabaab from urban strongholds in central and southern Somalia.
But suicide attacks have reinforced concerns the militants remain a potent
force and Ethiopia's sudden withdrawal in March from Hudur - the capital of
Bakool province near the Ethiopian border - enabled al Shabaab to retake the
town.
Foreign Minister Tedros Adhanom said Ethiopia had begun pulling out of
Baidoa - once considered the most important rebel city after the port of
Kismayu - because it was now relatively stable and Somali forces were able
to take over.
"The withdrawal from Baidoa should have been done almost a year ago but
AMISOM was not ready and that could not be done," he told Reuters in an
interview. Ethiopia seized the city, about 250 km (150 miles) northwest of
Mogadishu, last year.
"I am now glad that there is a well organized and planned withdrawal and the
space is already being occupied by Somali forces," Adhanom said.
After a 2006-2009 stint, Ethiopia once again sent troops to Somalia in 2011
to fight al Shabaab, alongside African Union forces from Uganda and Burundi
and Kenyan troops that later incorporated the AMISOM mission, after entering
Somalia independently to pursue al Shabaab.
Addis Ababa pledged at the time that its forces would stay in the
war-ravaged country until Somalia's government could ratify a new
constitution and its ragtag military was able to fend off the militant
Islamist threat on its own.
Tedros said Ethiopia's aim now was to deploy in areas where the rebels
appeared to have a far stronger presence. He expressed confidence that
Somali troops would be able to stand their ground in places Ethiopia left.
Ethiopian troops may deploy back to areas they have left if AMISOM and
Mogadishu asked for their return, he said.
ON THE RUN
"That is what is needed when al Shabaab is on the run - the best use of our
forces instead of stationing them in just certain places," he said.
"I don't think there is a need to put a deadline for complete withdrawal
because they (troops) will be engaged in one end every now and then, based
on the need."
Diplomats say Ethiopia has a contingent of around 8,000 troops in the
country.
The overthrow of dictator Mohamed Siad Barre in 1991 plunged Somalia into
two decades of violence, first at the hands of clan warlords and then
Islamist militants, while two semi-autonomous regions - Puntland and
Somaliland - have emerged in northern Somalia.
U.N. sanctions experts said this month that Eritrea was undermining
stability by paying political agents and a warlord linked to Islamist
militants to influence the Mogadishu government.
Tedros accused Eritrea - long at odds with Ethiopia over an unresolved
border dispute - of supporting the rebels.
"We have evidence that Eritrea is continuing to support al Shabaab," he
said. "I think the international community should really take this seriously
and take serious action especially in terms of strengthening the sanctions
that have already been imposed by the U.N."
Eritrea denies playing any negative role in Somalia, saying it has no links
to al Shabaab. It says U.N. sanctions imposed on it in 2009 for supporting
the insurgents were based on lies and has called for the sanctions to be
lifted.
Africans bid to avert oil shutdown over Sudan rebel row
Mon Jul 22, 2013 6:52am EDT
* Khartoum accuses Juba of supporting rebels
* Sudan gave S.Sudan until Aug.7 to shut oil output due to row
* Juba denies charges
By Aaron Maasho
ADDIS ABABA, July 22 (Reuters) - African goverments stepped up their efforts
to prevent a shutdown of oil production in South Sudan on Monday, agreeing
to send three generals to investigate Sudanese allegations that Juba is
supporting anti-Khartoum rebels.
Sudan, the sole conduit for South Sudan's oil exports, said last month it
would close two cross-border oil pipelines within 60 days and insisted
output be shut by August 7 unless Juba gave up its support for the rebels.
Juba denies backing them.
The two sides fought one of Africa's longest civil wars before the south won
independence in 2011.
Analysts say South Sudan might collapse without oil, the main source for the
budget apart from foreign grants. They point to recent looting of aid
agencies by soldiers as a sign that Juba is struggling to pay salaries.
Closing the wells is also bad news for Sudan, which has been struggling with
turmoil since losing most oil reserves with South Sudan's secession. Oil
fees from Juba are essential to bringing down soaring inflation.
A team of three generals from the African Union and East African bloc IGAD
will travel on Tuesday to Khartoum before heading to Juba on a six-week
mission, said Ramtane Lamamra, Commissioner of the AU's Peace and Security
Council.
"The decision by Sudan to shut down oil exports until and unless this issue
is properly handled...has brought President Mbeki to propose to the two
countries the formation of this investigation team," Lamamra Told a news
conference.
Former South African President Thabo Mbeki is the bloc's chief mediator for
Sudan and South Sudan.
"We hope this mechanism will resolve that longstanding problem, the
allegation by both parties of hosting rebels against the other," said
Ethiopia's Foreign Minister Tedros Adhanom, current chair of the Horn of
Africa grouping IGAD.
Khartoum accuses Juba of supporting the Sudanese Revolutionary Front (SRF)
rebel alliance, which complains of neglect at the hands of the wealthy
Khartoum elites. The SRF in April staged an attack on central Sudan.
South Sudan in turn accuses Sudan of backing rebels in its eastern Jonglei
state, where fighting is making it impossible to realise government plans to
search for oil with the help of France's Total and U.S. ExxonMobil.
South Sudan plans to sell 6.4 million barrels of oil worth $300 million
before shutting down its entire production by the end of July due to the
row.
It had only resumed oil production in April, after turning off wells pumping
around 300,000 barrels per day in January 2012 when both sides failed to
agree on pipeline fees.
Oil industry insiders say once the pipelines are closed it will take several
months to restart production as they would have to be flushed of water and
cleaned first.
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Received on Mon Jul 22 2013 - 22:57:48 EDT