Top Somali Officials to Return Home By March

January 21, 2005

Patrick Nzioka
Nairobi

All Somali Government officials operating from Kenya will return home by March, key leaders said yesterday.

Speaking in his Nairobi residence, President Abdullahi Yusuf said the officials would start returning next week and in early February. His views were echoed by prime minister Ali Mohamed Ghedi, who was also present.

The two said an advance party of 1,000 officials, including cabinet ministers and delegates who attended the peace negotiations in Kenya in the last two years, would leave ahead of the top leaders.

Mr Ghedi said he had set up three ministerial committees to work out the final details of moving house.

The committees are expected to thrash out the details on security, movement and establishment of governance structures.

Cabinet ministers are expected to meet on Monday to set the pace for the committees and approve their plans. Their deliberations will later be presented to the MPs before enforcement.

The African Union has said it will send a peace-keeping force to Somalia to secure the government on its return.

AU troops will also be involved in demobilising militias, rehabilitating and integrating them back into society. The troops will secure the country's entry points and key roads.

"The Somali government is like a baby. It needs to grow," Mr Ghedi said, asking the international community to support its efforts to bring back peace.

Mr Abdullahi said the AU forces would remain in Somalia for one year, by which time the government would have disarmed the militias and set its house in order.