[dehai-news] (Bloomberg): Somalia Islamist Says Ethiopia, Oil Exploration Deepening Crisis


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From: Berhane Habtemariam (Berhane.Habtemariam@gmx.de)
Date: Sat Sep 06 2008 - 07:24:46 EDT


      Somalia Islamist Says Ethiopia, Oil Exploration Deepening Crisis
     

By Jason McLure
6.9.008
(Bloomberg) -- The presence of Ethiopian troops in Somalia and the prospect of oil exploration are the main obstacles to peace in the war-torn country, an Islamist
opposition leader said. The United Nations and African Union should also fulfill their obligations and send peacekeepers to the Horn of African nation to help end the conflict, Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmed, leader of the Alliance for the Re-liberation of Somalia, or ARS, said in an interview yesterday in neighboring Djibouti.

Ethiopia ``wants a weak government in Somalia,'' he said. ``They are looking to capture Somali land because they don't have access to the sea.'' Ethiopia lost its access to the Red Sea when Eritrea gained independence in 1993.

Ethiopian troops invaded Somalia in December 2006 to help the UN -backed transitional federal government oust the Islamic Courts Union, a group of Islamists that took power in southern and central parts of the country in June 2006. Somalia hasn't had a functioning central administration since the ouster of former dictator Mohammed Siad Barre in 1991.

As many as 10,000 Ethiopian soldiers have remained in Somalia to support the T.F.G that is battling an Iraq-style insurgency by Islamist and clan-based militias. The fighting has forced at least 750,000 Somalis to flee their homes amidst the fighting. About 3.2 million people are in need of humanitarian assistance due to drought and civil war, according to figures released yesterday by the Food and Agriculture Organization-managed Food Security Analysis Unit for Somalia.

Oil Revenues

The conflict is being fueled by the prospect of potential oil revenues from exploration in northern Somalia, which has contributed to tensions between armed groups there, Sheikh Sharif said.``This is part of the problem,'' Ahmed said. ``First we have to think about political stability.''

Kuwait Energy Co. said Aug. 21 it signed a partnership with Indonesia's PT Medco Energi Internasional to form a joint venture in Somalia for oil exploration. Last month, Vancouver- based Africa Oil Corp., a unit of Range Resources Ltd., said it started a seismic acquisition program in Somalia's northern Puntland region.

Sheikh Sharif was previously the chairman of the ICU. After the group's defeat by the U.S.-backed Ethiopian forces, the ICU splintered into a number of factions. Sheikh Sharif's group has sought to make peace with Somalia's government and on Aug. 19
the ARS signed a ceasefire agreement with Somalia's transitional government. A faction of the ARS, led by Sheikh Hassan Dahir Aweys, another former leader of the ICU, has rejected talks with the Somali government until the Ethiopians leave the country.

Cease-Fire Agreement

A previous draft of this month's agreement, initialed in June, called for Ethiopian troops to withdraw within 120 days and be replaced by a UN stabilization force. Ahmed said the current agreement doesn't have a fixed timetable for the withdrawal of Ethiopian forces. A joint committee established by the accord will determine the timetable by Sept. 19, he said. While the UN Security Council praised the June agreement, it has yet send peacekeepers to Somalia. A contingent of 2,300 AU soldiers has failed to stem the violence.

``We fulfill our commitments and it's up to the international community and the Ethiopians and the transitional government of Somalia to fulfill theirs,'' Sheikh Sharif said. The al-Shabaab militia, a group controlled by militant members of the former ICU government, has claimed responsibility for much of the violence in Somalia. The U.S. considers al- Shabaab a terrorist organization and Sheikh Sharif's group has distanced itself from them.

Cause of War

``What causes al-Shabaab to fight is the Ethiopian occupation,'' Ahmed said. ``If the Ethiopians leave, al-Shabaab will be part of the Somali community.'' The U.S. is concerned about Somalia as a possible safe- haven for members of al-Qaeda, including suspects in the 1998 U.S. embassy bombings in Kenya and Tanzania. Ahmed denied that there are al-Qaeda members currently in Somalia, and said that one figure sought by the U.S., Hassan al-Turki, is just a ``normal Somali man.''While there have been previous disagreements over its support for warlords and for Ethiopia, Ahmed said the U.S. was now playing a constructive role in Somalia and had been in close
contact with his group during peace talks earlier this year.``Forget about the last three years, now they are acting positively,'' he said. ``We have very cooperative relations.''

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