Militia threaten Somali president

Friday, 4 March, 2005, 21:17 GMT

Armed Somali militiamen surrounded the planes of the president and prime minister at the end of their first tour of the lawless country.

There were chaotic scenes at Baidoa airport as people ran away from the aircraft as the militia demanded wages for guarding the planes for two days.

A local warlord intervened allowing the delegation to take off for neighbouring Kenya, where the government is based.

The tour was assessing plans to relocate the administration to Somalia.

But during the 10-day visit President Abdullahi Yusuf Ahmed and his team did not visit the ruined and divided capital, Mogadishu.

Somalia has been without an effective government since 1991 and has an estimated 60,000 armed militiamen.

Since then, rival warlords, many of whom are now ministers, have battled for control of the country, and Somalia has been divided into a patchwork of fiefdoms.

Khat payment

According to the BBC's Mohammed Olad Hassan the impasse lasted about 30 minutes.

The men were part of the Rahanweyne Resistance Army (RRA), which has split into factions and controls much of the region around Baidoa.

Local warlord Mohammed Nur Habsade assured the armed men that they would receive their money, and a supply of khat, an addictive stimulant popular in Somalia.

Security has been tight during the president's tour and he has had a warm reception in most parts of the country.

Baidoa, suggested by some cabinet ministers as a safer, alternative seat for the new government, was by contrast the most dangerous, our correspondent says.

President Yusuf wants peacekeepers from neighbouring countries, including Ethiopia, to protect his government when it returns from exile, and to disarm the thousands of militiamen.

The African Union has authorised the deployment of thousands of troops from several regional countries to help with the relocation.

But key warlords are opposed to the inclusion of Ethiopian troops and there have been huge protests in the capital.

Somalia | Politics | |