AU fails to secure Somali force

AFRICAN Union leaders have failed to secure full numbers for a planned peacekeeping force in Somalia, following a two-day summit in Ethiopia.

Speaking at the closure, new AU chairman John Kufuor said several nations had pledged troops – but so far they had only 4 000 out of 8 000. The force is due to replace withdrawing Ethiopian soldiers, whose intervention swept Islamists from power last month.Reports from Somalia say there has been a night of unrest in the capital.Unidentified gunmen fired mortars on a military base in the north-east of Mogadishu, where Ethiopian troops are based, and five heavy explosions were heard in the capital overnight.No group has said it carried out the attacks, but correspondents say government officials have accused members of the Union of Islamic Court’s militia of masterminding the violence.Last night, the government imposed a curfew on the city of Baidoa, in the south-west of the country and is set to also introduce this in Mogadishu.At the start of the meeting in Addis Adaba, 4 000 troops were committed by Uganda, Nigeria, Ghana and Malawi.Kufuor, who is president of Ghana, said there had been no increase in that number, but he hoped other countries would come forward.”We appeal to member states to contribute and we are still expecting them to answer,” he said, adding that the deployment would “commence as soon as possible”.Kufuor was elected as the new AU chairman on Monday, bypassing Sudan’s President Omar al-Bashir because of the conflict in Darfur.Bashir has repeatedly denied backing the Janjaweed militias, accused of carrying out widespread atrocities in Darfur and says the problems there have been exaggerated.Earlier on yesterday, Somalia’s President Abdullahi Yusuf announced a reconciliation conference – the date still to be confirmed – saying it would give all Somalis “a fair chance” to participate in efforts to return to lasting stability.BBCThe force is due to replace withdrawing Ethiopian soldiers, whose intervention swept Islamists from power last month.Reports from Somalia say there has been a night of unrest in the capital.Unidentified gunmen fired mortars on a military base in the north-east of Mogadishu, where Ethiopian troops are based, and five heavy explosions were heard in the capital overnight.No group has said it carried out the attacks, but correspondents say government officials have accused members of the Union of Islamic Court’s militia of masterminding the violence.Last night, the government imposed a curfew on the city of Baidoa, in the south-west of the country and is set to also introduce this in Mogadishu.At the start of the meeting in Addis Adaba, 4 000 troops were committed by Uganda, Nigeria, Ghana and Malawi.Kufuor, who is president of Ghana, said there had been no increase in that number, but he hoped other countries would come forward.”We appeal to member states to contribute and we are still expecting them to answer,” he said, adding that the deployment would “commence as soon as possible”.Kufuor was elected as the new AU chairman on Monday, bypassing Sudan’s President Omar al-Bashir because of the conflict in Darfur.Bashir has repeatedly denied backing the Janjaweed militias, accused of carrying out widespread atrocities in Darfur and says the problems there have been exaggerated.Earlier on yesterday, Somalia’s President Abdullahi Yusuf announced a reconciliation conference – the date still to be confirmed – saying it would give all Somalis “a fair chance” to participate in efforts to return to lasting stability.BBC