Somalia
Ethiopian FM sneaks in and back out of Mogadishu
By
Mar 15, 2007 - 8:05:51 AM

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Ethiopia has already withdrawn all its troops from the Jubba regions in southern Somalia, including the strategic port city of Kismayo.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 14^th 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