Militia faction disowns Somalia peace pact

A group of Somali militia leaders has distanced itself from an agreement signed with the government, raising concerns about the success of the pact. Photo/REUTERS PHOTO/ FILE 

By SAMMY CHEBOI
Posted Saturday, March 20 2010 at 19:04

In Summary

• There was no proper delegation to forum with the authority to sign deal, say leaders

Doubts surround a recent pact with a militia faction aimed at consolidating the power of the Transitional Federal Government of Somalia after a section of the militia leadership disowned the deal.

The agreement, signed this week in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, was aimed at bolstering efforts of the fledgling government to root out radical Islamic militias but protests by Ahlu Sunna Wal-Jamea leaders are likely to collapse the drive.The latest turn of events cast doubts on earlier reports that ongoing talks between the pro-government Islamist group and the Africa Union-backed government had made headway after both parties agreed on certain issues.In a sign of leadership struggles within the Ahlu Sunna, the most prominent moderate Islamic group in Somalia, vice chairman Sheik Hassan Sheik Abdi convened a press conference in Nairobi’s Eastleigh area to denounce the purported agreement as well as question the leadership of his chairman, Sheikh Mahammud Sheikh Hassan, who was leading “a non-representative delegation” at the talks.Ahlu Sunna is a Somali paramilitary group opposed to the radical Islamist rebel groups al Shabaab and Hizbul Islam, and is fighting to prevent fundamentalist Islam from being imposed on Somalia and protecting the country’s Sufi traditions and mainstream, generally moderate, religious views.Ahlu Sunna’s series of victories have been the opposite of the transitional government, which has been squeezed into a tiny corner of the Somali capital, Mogadishu, and the officials, including four vice-chairmen, pointed to this as a sign of their importance in any collaboration with the government.The bone of contention, according to Mr Mohamud Abdi, secretary for the leadership committee of Ahlu Sunna, is that there was no official delegation sent to the Addis conference and therefore those at the forum could not enter into a pact on Ahlu Sunna’s behalf.

Proper authority

“There was no official delegation to the conference which had proper authority to sign any agreement with the transitional government on our behalf,” Sheikh Abdi asserted at the Nairobi press conference.

The delegation from President Sheikh Sharif Sheikh’s government was led by Finance minister Sharif Hassan Sheikh Adan, Postal and Communication minister Abdirisaq Osman Hassan and political advisor Mustaf Ahmed Dhuxulow.Mr Sheik Abdi said the agenda of the meeting and some contents of the agreement were not in line with Ahlu Sunna’s efforts and successful military operations towards creating an immediate peaceful and stable Somalia.“Before any external agreements with any second party, Ahlu Sunna wants to complete a reformation meeting that has been going on since January,” he said.But President Sheikh has embraced the deal, describing it as “a historic success” that marked a closer step toward recovery for the failed state.Somalia has been without a stable central government since the ouster of  Siad Barre in 1991 .