Can Somalia's leader contain the al-Shabab?
The insurgents are refusing peace talks so we ask how this affects the
country's efforts to attain peace after 20 years.
<
http://www.aljazeera.com/profile/inside-story.html> Inside Story Last
Modified: 19 Sep 2012 12:21
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http://www.aljazeera.com/programmes/insidestory/2012/09/2012918114844545787
.html>
http://www.aljazeera.com/programmes/insidestory/2012/09/2012918114844545787.
html
On Sunday Somalia's new president, Hassan Sheikh Mohamud, was inaugurated
amid tight security in the capital, Mogadishu.
The ceremony took place four days after Mahmoud survived an assassination
attempt. The attack highlighted the serious security challenges he and the
country face.
Somalia's new leader has put reconciliation and security as a priority,
saying that he is willing to start talks with the al-Shabab, the same group
that claimed responsibility for trying to kill him last week.
Mohamud, who was elected by the country's parliament on Monday, replaces the
transitional government. Somalia has not had a functioning government since
1991.
Meanwhile Kenyan soldiers have been fighting al-Shabab in Somalia's port
city of Kismayo. Kenya's military says it has killed at least 50 fighters.
Kismayo is the group's last stronghold in Somalia after the fall of Merca
and Afmadhow in the Juba area.
It is part of a push by the African Union forces - which has nearly 18,000
troops fighting the al-Shabab - to recapture the city.
Kismayo is in the Jubbada Hoose province in southern Somalia, and is also a
strategic target for Kenyan forces because it is a key supply route for
al-Shabab. The port generates millions of dollars for the group.
Earlier Al Jazeera spoke to Sheikh Ali Mahmoud Rage, an al-Shabab
spokesperson, about the new president's initiative to start talks with the
armed group.
Among other things he said: "The fighting is going on near Afmadhow, south
of Kismayo. This is the usual war between us and the Christian government of
Kenya. They have suffered heavy losses. The mujahideen are ready to stop
them if they try to advance.
"This is not the first time the Kenyan government occupies part of Somalia.
We know they already occupy part of Somalia and people are suffering under
them. Now they want also to take the Juba area of Somalia. So this is a
policy based on occupation.
"The president you are talking about is not a man who came by the will of
the Somali people or for their sake. He was brought by the West and
Somalia's neighbours. He was voted for by people with foreign passports. He
has nothing to offer so there is no reason for us to talk to him."
Inside Story asks: Will the new Somali leader succeed in his dealings with
the al-Shabab?
Joining the discussion with presenter Hazem Sika are guests: Abdurahman Hosh
Jibril, Somalia's minister of constitution; David Shinn, the former US
ambassador to Ethiopia and the former director of the Office of East African
Affairs at the US state department; and Farah Maalim, the deputy speaker of
the Kenyan parliament.
"It's not entirely the Kenyan defence forces who are implementing the
military objective of flushing out al-Shabab from the Jubaland area. The
bulk of the fighting is by the Somalis themselves who have taken the brunt
of casualties and are engaging them in all corners."
Farah Maalim, the deputy speaker of the Kenyan parliament
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Received on Wed Sep 19 2012 - 17:51:11 EDT
