In this issue: * CONFERENCE LORDS * EGYPT SENDING MORE TROOPS TO SOMALIA ____________________________________________________________________ S O M A L I A N E W S U P D A T E ____________________________________________________________________ Vol 2, No 31 October 27, 1993. ISSN 1103-1999 ____________________________________________________________________ Somalia News Update is published irregularly via electronic mail and fax. Questions can be directed to Bernhard.Helander@antro.uu.se or to fax number +46-18-151160. All SNU marked material is free to quote as long as the source is clearly stated. ____________________________________________________________________ CONFERENCE LORDS (SNU, Addis Ababa, October 27)The clash of the conferences has reached fever pitch, with the parleylords squabbling over the warlords. A diplomatic offensive by Ethiopian President Meles Zenawi's Transitional Government has enlisted the support of Sudan, Kenya and Djibouti for an "immediate" Somalia Reconciliation Conference to be held in Mogadishu, to which all parties would be invited. Meanwhile, UN Secretary-General Boutros Boutros-Ghali seems to prefer Nairobi or Kenya, and has not made his position on the participation of Mohamed Farah Aydiid clear, according to informed sources. Ethiopia's Foreign Minister Seyoum Mesfin arrived back in Addis Ababa yesterday after a regional tour and told the Ethiopian News Agency that the date and the time of the Mogadishu conference was yet to be decided, but that special Ethiopian envoys in Mogadishu were making essential preparations to pave the way. The UN Security Council should endorse the Addis Ababa accords, which is acceptable to all Somali factional and party leaders, said Ato (Mr) Seyoum, and stressed the contribution of countries in the region and the Organization of African Unity (OAU) in efforts to bring a durable solution. The key question of responsibility for the killing of 24 Pakistani peacekeepers in June, can only be identified by an independent enquiry committee, according to the Ethiopian Minister. However, despite confusion over the reconciliation conference, the Foreign Minister expected a UN-led humanitarian conference to take place in Addis Ababa in November. The announcement follows inconclusive meetings at the weekend between President Meles Zenawi and Boutros-Ghali and James Jonah, another senior UN diplomat, famous for bungling the UN's role in Somalia in 1991. A fortnight of hectic diplomatic activity has seen the UN attempting to wrest back the initiative from the regional powers and the US and the regional governments, led by Ethiopia, insisting that the Addis Ababa agreements are the only way forward. This has resulted in the UN Secretary- General appearing more and more petulant and parochial, while the OAU attempts to rehabilitee its reputation by riding on the coattails of President Meles Zenawi's diplomatic initiative. EGYPT SENDING MORE TROOPS TO SOMALIA (SNU/DPA, Cairo, October 25) Egypt made it known Monday that it was increasing its military contribution to the U.N. peacekeeping force in Somalia but said this should not be regarded as a substitute for the U.S. contingent which will be withdrawn by next April. The disclosure was made by Foreign Minister Amr Moussa in an interview with the Cairo daily al-Ahram conducted in Washington and published a few hours before President Hosny Mubarak's scheduled tete-a-tete with U.S. President Bill Clinton later in the day. Mussa would say only that the increased Egyptian contribution was being effected at a request from the United Nations. He gave no hint on the troop or hardware strength envisaged to bolster Egypt's contingent, currently believed to comprise 500 soldiers. Al-Ahram's report carried no direct quotes but made it clear that the dispatch of troop reinforcements and hardware had already begun. The report said: "Mussa was asked about America's intention to withdraw its contingent from Somalia, the U.N. request to Egypt to increase its troop contribution there and whether this represented a replacement for the American troops which will be withdrawn. He denied that this represented a replacement, adding that the increase in the Egyptian contribution is being undertaken within the existing situation." The possibility of deeper Egyptian military involvement in neighbouring Somalia has been mooted indirectly in recent Cairo press editorials. The opposition daily al-Wafd has warned that Egypt may be risking a debilitating involvement similar to its costly expedition during the Yemen civil war in the 1960s. "We are not richer than America," declared a recent front-page editorial in the mass- circulation daily al-Akhbar. Some members of parliament questioned earlier this year Mubarak's decision to send troops abroad without prior parliamentary authorization. But the Egyptian president enjoys sweeping powers under the constitution making his decisions virtually unimpeachable. Mubarak is also the current chairaman of the 52-nation Organisation of African Unity. Last June's OAU summit in Cairo envisaged in-house peacekeeping functions including the possible dispatch of African peacekeeping forces to trouble spots, but no moves have been taken so far in this direction because of lack of finances. The developments coincided with the planning for the "peace- marches" conducted by the followers of Somali leader Mohamed Mahdi who is backed by a number of other factions all on good terms with Egypt. The marches ended in three days of blood-shed leaving 17 Somalis dead. ____________________________________________________________________ SNU is an entirely independent newsletter devoted to critical analysis of the political and humanitarian developments in Somalia and Somaliland. SNU is edited and published by Dr. Bernhard Helander, Uppsala University, Sweden. SNU is produced with support from the Scandinavian Institute of African Studies, Uppsala, Sweden. ____________________________________________________________________