Islamist-warlord clashes hinder Somalia's new government

Ask Prime Minister Ali Mohamed Gedi about the achievements of his fledgling Somali government since February - when it first began operating in the volatile country that has gone 15 years with no government - and he reels off a lengthy list of committees formed, bills written, and programs planned.

He points to the fact that just down the potholed roads from the prime minister's fortified home in Baidoa, his MPs are meeting in a warehouse, debating plans for a reconciliation commission. It would tour the country in an attempt to heal the wounds from more than a decade of fighting.

But as Mr. Gedi finishes his list, he admits they will have a tall task ahead.

Fresh violence in the capital Mogadishu has killed more than 300 people this year and displaced thousands amid widespread claims that American agents have been secretly funding a coalition of warlords who are battling Islamic groups for influence. The allegations brought about 5,000 demonstrators to the streets Friday to call the US an enemy of Islam.

Gedi's parliament is the latest of some 14 attempts to restore peace to Somalia, a country that has been without a functioning government since President Siad Barre was overthrown in 1991.

Since then, warlords have carved the country into a patchwork of personal fiefdoms, making Somalia a no-go zone for United Nations troops since 1995.

The withdrawal of UN forces followed the "Black Hawk Down" episode two years earlier, when a US mission to snatch one of the most influential armed strongmen ended in failure. Two Black Hawk helicopters were shot down and 18 Rangers were killed by Mogadishu fighters.

Now Mogadishu is aflame once more, posing a profound challenge to the man charged with governing the country.

"Now that we have established the Transitional Federal Institutions of Somalia, it was not our expectation that new outbreaks of fighting would start all over the country and in particular in the capital city," Gedi says. "We are concerned about what this means for our work here, and it is very sad that after 16 years, warmongers are still in place, destroying properties, killing innocent people, children, women, elderly people, and also civil society organizations."

Just as the parliament began sitting in February, 11 warlords formed a coalition to fight Islamic fundamentalist groups, who now control 80 percent of the capital.

Members of the Alliance for the Restoration of Peace and Counterterrorism say they are rooting out Al Qaeda members in the city and claim to have evidence of foreign jihadis - from Saudi Arabia, Yemen, and Pakistan - fighting with the Islamic militias.

Mohamed Qanyare Afrah, one of four dissident ministers to have joined the coalition, says the government has failed to tackle the threat.

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