By Guled Mohamed
NAIROBI, July 8 (Reuters) - Somalia's prime minister said on Friday his government will not be cowed by threats from powerful Mogadishu warlords and would go ahead and form a security force to protect the new administration.
"It's the work of my government to ensure our citizens are safe," PM Mohamed Ali Gedi told Reuters by phone from Jowhar, where President Abdullahi Yusuf has made his temporary base.
"We will continue with preparations of bringing together a force that would be in charge of security and we are not afraid of the threats."
Warlords in Mogadishu have warned the government not to bring any troops into Jowhar after Somali officials said Yusuf was gathering troops to be trained as policemen to protect his government before regional countries send peacekeepers.
Gedi, who returned to Jowhar on Thursday from Libya where he attended the African Union (AU) summit, said he was optimistic the United Nations Security Council will heed calls by African leaders to lift an arms embargo on Somalia in order to pave the way for deployment of African troops.
"The AU summit requested the U.N. Security Council to remove the arms embargo in Somalia to enable African and Arab troops to be deployed. We urge the U.N. Security Council to embrace the African leaders call," he said.
U.N. ARMS EMBARGO
The United Nations slapped an arms embargo on Somalia in 1992. International donors said this week they were concerned about reports of militia movements and an influx of weapons into Somalia and asked Somalis to refrain from hostilities.
Gedi said he supported the international community's call for peace but denied his government was violating the U.N. arms embargo in Somalia.
"Every government in the world has opposition, however I totally disagree on claims made by our enemies that we are smuggling weapons which are totally untrue," he said. "We will continue to solve our differences amicably without any force."
A faction of ministers and MPs aligned to Gedi and Yusuf have made their temporary home in relatively secure Jowhar. Others, including powerful warlords in his cabinet, insist Mogadishu must be the capital under an interim constitution and are now there.
Somalia has been without a central government since former military dictator Mohamed Siad Barre was ousted by clan warlords in 1991.