By Somalilandtimes network

Baidoa, March 18, 2006 – The Baidoa show continues teetering between the hilarious and the bloody. The high point this week was Mohammad Omar Habeeb’s (a.k.a Mohammad Dheere) banning of members of the so-called government of Somalia from setting foot in Jawhar and the Middle Shabelle Region. Mohammed Dheere said he no longer recognizes the “government” of Somalia, and described its head, Abdillahi Yusuf, as a tribally-minded low-life. Mohammad Dheere explained that, the militia from Majertenya that were until recently based in Jawhar, were not part of any army, but were thugs and bandits and he was happy they left without doing more damage. He claimed that the “government” of Somalia owes him $9 million dollars, and that instead of thanking him for his hospitality, the militia from Majeertenya (Puntland) stole the mattresses that he provided for them. The loss of their base in Jawhar, and the fact that Baidoa is a contested territory between several factions, means that the so-called government of Somalia does not control any territory in Somalia, with the possible exception of Abdillahi Yusuf’s tribal homeland in Majertenya (Puntland).

As we pointed out before, the Baidoa meeting is about show, not substance. It was postponed again this week. Some people are saying the meeting was postponed to give the participants enough time to reach agreement and cut deals before the meeting starts, while others are saying it was postponed because of the fear that a bloody fight might erupt at the meeting.

Everybody is talking about reconciliation, but there isn’t much reconciliation going on in Baidoa. For instance, one of the people who has been talking the most about reconciliation is the so-called speaker of “parliament”, Sharif Hasan. But only this week, his deputy, Osman Ilmi Boqorre, accused him of not consulting with him and not even saying a word to him since he arrived in Baidoa.

The unstable security situation in Baidoa took a dip for the worse this week when one of the clan militias that were stationed outside the city-center moved out in anger and entered the city. There are already several indigenous and non-indigenous militias in the city. Abdillahi Yusuf is pressing for his clan militias to be based in the city. The result could be a quickshift from the hilarious to the bloody.

Source: Somaliland Times