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| Ethiopian FM Mesfin [left] and President Yusuf |
MOGADISHU,
Somalia Mar 15 (Garowe Online) -
In an unannounced visit to
Mogadishu,
Ethiopia’s foreign affairs chief spent Wednesday night at Villa
Somalia and held private discussions with Somali President Abdullahi Yusuf before flying back to
Addis Ababa Thursday morning.
It was the second such visit for Foreign Minister Seyoum Mesfin since Ethiopia-backed Somali troops dislodged an Islamist movement from the capital
Mogadishu last December.
Thousands of extra Somali and Ethiopian troops were patrolling streets near the international airport and Villa
Somalia, residents reported.
In his brief comments to the press at the heavily-guarded airport, Foreign Minister Mesfin said he and President Yusuf discussed security issues in
Mogadishu, as well as the phased withdrawal of Ethiopian forces as more African Union peacekeepers are deployed.
Ethiopia has already withdrawn all its troops from the Jubba regions in southern
Somalia, including the strategic port city of
Kismayo. [
Full story]
More than 1,000 Ugandan peacekeepers, ahead of a proposed 8,000-strong AU force, have so far deployed in
Mogadishu.
Government aides said the Ethiopian foreign minister’s secret visit was partly designed to showcase support for the government’s decision to relocate to volatile
Mogadishu. [
Full story]
Yusuf’s interim government, the 14th attempt to restore central rule in the Horn of Africa country since 1991, is struggling to secure
Mogadishu before the opening of the National Reconciliation Conference on April 16.
Before his secret trip to
Mogadishu, Mesfin and his delegation, which included
Somalia’s Ambassador to the African Union Abdikarim Laqanyo, first stopped over in the inland city of
Baidoa to talk with Prime Minister Ali Mohamed Gedi and other Somali officials.
Insurgent violence in
Mogadishu has led to dozens of deaths and the UN reported that more than 40,000 civilians fled the capital last month. [
Full story]
Source: Garowe Online
