From: wolda002@umn.edu
Date: Fri Jul 10 2009 - 23:11:13 EDT
Kenya rejects call for military help in Somalia
* Somali parliament speaker asks Djibouti, Ethiopia, Kenya, Yemen to
send troops
* Country is battling hardline Islamist militants
* Kenya says African Union must lead such an effort
* AU says it will help Somalia
(CNN) -- Somalia's transitional government has the right to request
military help from its neighbors against armed militants, the African Union
said Monday, but Kenya was quick to reject the idea of sending troops and
suggested the AU should spearhead such a move.
Somali parliament speaker Sheikh Adan Madowe on Saturday called on
Djibouti, Ethiopia, Kenya and Yemen to send in their military forces to
help government troops stop hardline Islamist militants from taking over.
"Militants are wrestling the power from the government and so we call for
military help from neighboring countries," the speaker said at a news
conference in Mogadishu. "Please send your military to help in 24 hours'
time."
But Alfred Mutua, spokesman for the Kenyan government, told CNN that "Kenya
doesn't engage in military support to our neighbors." He said that any such
support would be under the umbrella of the African Union.
However, he did say that "different types of support can be given, not just
military, and Kenya's options are open." He said that the government should
announce by Wednesday how it will move forward.
Jean Ping, chairman of the African Union Commission, said in a communique
issued Sunday that the transitional government, as Somalia's legitimate
government, "has the right to seek support from AU Member States and the
larger international community."
Ping also said that the AU would "continue to do its utmost to assist the
Somali people and its authorities in their lasting quest for peace and
reconciliation."
Somalia's call for help came hours after a third top politician was killed
in ongoing fighting in the capital.
Mohamed Hussein Adow, a powerful member of parliament who was leading the
fight against the Islamists, was slain Friday in the north of the city.
His death came two days after Islamists killed Internal Security Minister
Omar Hashi Adan in a suicide attack in central Somalia. The nation's former
ambassador to Ethiopia, Abdikarin Farah Laqanyo, was also killed, along
with at least 11 others, government officials said.
Madowe said a Pakistani militant who is a high-ranking official in al Qaeda
is leading the fighting in Somalia against the government.
He warned that militants will spread fighting into the rest of the region
if they topple the government in Somalia.
Mohammed Amiin Adow contributed to this report for CNN
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