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Somali Government Reaches Accord with Warlords
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http://enews.voanews.com/t?ctl=15BF4ED:A6F02AD83191E160D4CF7D5E2F503AD39574F7DCC14957C0 Agreement with
clan warlords to disarm their militias and join new national army





>From left to right, former warlord Muse Sude Yalahow, President
Abdullahi Yusuf, Prime Minister Ali Mohamed Gedi and former warlord
Mohamed Qanyare Afrah, during their meeting, 12 Jan 2007Somalia's
interim government has reached an agreement with clan warlords to
disarm their militias and join a new national army.

The agreement was reached Friday during talks between the warlords and
President Abdullahi Yusuf in the capital of Mogadishu.

While the talks were going on, government troops and militia forces
loyal to clan warlord Mohamed Qanyare engaged in a gunfight outside
the presidential residence. At least five people were killed and
several others wounded.

Somalia's interim government has been trying to establish its
authority since driving out Islamist militias with the help of
Ethiopian government forces last month. The Horn of Africa nation has
been plagued by anarchy since warlords overthrew dictator Mohamed Siad
Barre in 1991.

Ethiopian and U.S. forces have been carrying out air attacks in
southern Somalia against suspected Islamist militants and al Qaida
terrorists. The British-based aid agency Oxfam says the attacks have
mistakenly targeted nomadic herdsmen in the Afmadow region, killing 70
people.

The Washington Post says an American military team is in the region to
determine if three key suspected al Qaida operatives were killed in a
U.S. airstrike on Monday. The newspaper says this is the first time
U.S. military forces have stepped foot in Somalia since a mission to
stabilize the country ended in 1994.

The three suspects, Fazul Abdullah Mohammed, Abu Talha al-Sudani and
Saleh Ali Saleh Nabhan, are wanted in connection with the 1998
bombings of two U.S. embassies in Kenya and Tanzania.

U.S. officials have said they believe the suspects were not among the
10 people killed in the airstrike.

Earlier today, the U.S. ambassador to Kenya, Michael Ranneberger,
called for a quick deployment of African Union peacekeepers to
Somalia.

The African Union has pledged to send more than eight thousand troops
to Somalia.

Some information for this report was provided by AFP, AP and Reuters.


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