Somali leaders expressed concern at reports that Washington is financing a group of powerful Mogadishu warlords who have styled themselves as an anti-terrorism coalition. The warlords have been involved in several bouts of fighting with militia linked to Islamic leaders. About 100 people have been killed in the violence, the worst in Mogadishu in years.The perception of US involvement has given rise to fears that Mogadishu's militia battles are shifting from the commercial to the ideological, and creating a new arena for Islamic militants to fight what they call Washington's war on Islam.
The US has been rumoured to have paid the coalition in exchange for help tracking down al-Qaeda militants who move freely in Somalia. "We have no official communication but these rumours are everywhere," Prime Minister Mohamed Ali Gedi said.
The US has never directly confirmed or denied suggestions that it backed warlords.
"We do not expect the American government to just pump dollars to Somali people to create problems. They are our friends and we expect friendship from them," Speaker Sharif Hassan Sheikh Adan added.
| We tried friendship once, remember? |
But the renewed fighting has complicated the prospect by raising security concerns and threatening the delicate reconciliation between the prime minister and parliament speaker.
The interim government two weeks ago voted to make Baidoa its new seat, after more than 1000 militiamen were persuaded to move out to make it secure. It is the government's second base inside Somalia after it first moved back home to Jowhar, north of Mogadishu, last year. Until then, the fledgling administration had not left neighbouring Kenya, where it was formed in late 2004 after two years of peace talks.
Bondevik said many still see Somalia as a synonym for "chaos and war and lack of security. I urge you to create a new image of responsible and responsive parliament and government that cares for its people."
The government's new-found unity and reconciliation efforts are moving toward that end, Hassan said. "You see that we are standing side by side."