When Peace Means War

EDITORIAL

With the Sana ( Yemen ) meeting between the heads of the two main factions in Somalia ’s divided paper-government, the usual talk about Somali peace and reconciliation has gotten louder. The noise about peace, however, does not change the brutal reality that the two factions that are based in Jawhar and Mogadishu , respectively, are busy preparing for war at the same time that they are talking about peace. The fact that the two sides are saying one thing and doing another is not by accident, and has everything to do with Abdillahi Yusuf’s strategy of imposing a military solution on his rival warlords in Mogadishu . Abdillahi Yusuf’s opponents in Mogadishu know his strategy and have taken counter measures. That Abdillahi Yusuf is on the war path is confirmed by the fact that he took the following steps:

1- There has been a steady flow of arms from Yemen to Abdillahi Yusuf through Majertenya’s port of Bosaso , and by air, in violation of the UN arms embargo against Somalia . In addition to their planned use against Mogadishu , these weapons also pose a danger to Somaliland . The UN which has confirmed the arrival of these weapons has also pointed out that Abdillahi Yusuf has a clan agenda in acquiring weapons and preventing weapons from reaching the Bakaraaha Arms Market (BAM) in Mogadishu where they could be purchased by his opponents. The UN Monitoring Group wrote:

“With regard to the second factor affecting arms supplies to BAM, the Monitoring Group believes that Abdillahi Yusuf, TFG President and former President of Puntland, is very well aware of BAM arms-supply channels and the fact that members of the opposition were the principal beneficiaries of arms sales at BAM. The Monitoring Group learned that, accordingly, about the beginning July 2005, President Yusuf took two decisions that ultimately affected the overall availability of arms for sale at BAM: (a) he blocked the use of the port of Bossaso for dhows delivering arms destined for BAM and attempted to block all roads that the arms traders use in Puntland to convey the arms to Mogadishu, and (b) he further made a deal with arms dealers based in Puntland from his clan — Darod — not to supply arms to BAM, providing the reason that the arms would ultimately go to the opposition in Mogadishu, which is preparing to use the arms to fight fellow clan members — Darod militias — from Puntland.”

2- The amassing of militias from Majertenya in Jawhar, the illegal smuggling of armaments from Ethiopia to Jawhar as well as the training of those militias by Ethiopian military personnel.

3- Warlord Abdillahi Yusuf’s continued efforts to isolate Mogadishu ’s warlords. One example of this is his request that Kenya ban flights to and from airstrips controlled by Mogadishu ’s warlords. The latest example, is the humiliation of Qanyare Afrah by Kenyan authorities at Wilson airport who delayed his disembarkation from the plane for forty minutes.

4- The Jawhar faction’s continued efforts to rescind the UN arms ban against Somalia . The most recent example of this took place at the AU conference in Khartoum .

5- Statements by Jawhar faction’s Minister of Ports, Ali Ismail Abdi Gii that Jawhar is still going to be the seat of government, even after the planned meeting of the parliament’s two factions.

To sum up, all indications are that despite the rhetoric about peace and reconciliation, Somalia ’s factions are gearing up for war. It is also pertinent to mention here that the role of the UN in Somalia has been contradictory and hypocritical. On the one hand, the UN has imposed an arms embargo on Somalia and is on record as being opposed to war and the use of force by Somali factions, but on the other hand it keeps rewarding Abdillahi Yusuf, one of the main culprits in this regard, by bankrolling his travels and financing his various activities. So far, Somaliland has followed a quite approach with regard to Somalia ’s affairs, but as the probability of war increases, it would be wise for Somaliland to start taking precautionary measures, especially when it comes to Majertenya’s illegal acquisition of armaments. Somaliland would also be well-advised to add its voice to those opposed to Abdillahi Yusuf’s war plans.

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