Somali Islamists travel to Libya for AU event

MOGADISHU, Sept 8 (Reuters) – Somalia’s senior Islamist leaders flew to Libya on Friday for a weekend African Union event amid speculation Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi may try to broker talks between them and the fragile interim government.

Sheikh Hassan Dahir Aweys and Sheikh Sharif Ahmed — the top pair among the Islamists who took a swathe of south-central Somalia earlier this year in direct challenge to the government — left Mogadishu on a special flight sent by Libya.

“They have been invited to attend a ceremony to commemorate the formation of the African Union,” an Islamist source said, adding that 11 wounded fighters were also on the plane for treatment in Libya.

President Abdullahi Yusuf, whose dream of establishing central rule in Somalia for the first time in 15 years has been put on hold by the Islamists’ rise, was also expected to attend.

“Libya is close to both the government and the Islamic courts,” said a Somali analyst who asked not to be named.

“They might seize the opportunity to urge both sides to forget their differences and work together.”

But in Baidoa, the provincial seat of Yusuf’s government, a spokesman said he doubted any rapprochement would take place between the two sides in Libya because a formal process of negotiations had already begun in Sudan.

“We are not aware of any talks,” spokesman Abdirahman Dinari said. “We need to fulfil agreements reached in Khartoum.”

Efforts to stamp its authority on the country has led the government to embrace rival plans over the past two days.

One was a deal in principle, reached in Khartoum, to join its military with that of the powerful Islamists. And the other was a long-delayed plan to bring in foreign peacekeepers.

The Islamists are fiercely opposed to foreign troops — and particularly Ethiopians — in Somalia.

In yet another headache for the government, its Ports Minister Mohamed Ibrahim Habsade, who is a former warlord from Baidoa, challenged the government to leave the town, saying it had failed to ensure the safety of its people.

“Fifty people, including elders, have been massacred in Baidoa since the government moved there,” he told the BBC, referring to various bouts of unrest around the town.

“The government should vacate Baidoa peacefully. Or else we will eject it by force,” added Habsade, who still commands loyalty among militia in the area.

His comments came in reaction to a battle in Baidoa earlier this week between gunmen loyal to the government and local militias which killed at least five people.

Violence has plagued Somalia since warlords ousted former dictator Mohamed Siad Barre in 1991.