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UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs |
SOMALIA: UIC disarms militia, tightens control over Kismayo
NAIROBI, 28 Sep 2006 (IRIN) - Three days after taking control of the southern port city of Kismayo, 500 km south of the capital Mogadishu, the Union of Islamic Courts (UIC) on Wednesday peacefully disarmed hundreds of militiamen loyal to the Juba Valley Alliance (JVA), which previously controlled the city.
The UIC took Kismayo on 25 September, after the leader of the JVA, Col. Barre Hiirale, who is also defence minister in the Transitional Federal Government (TFG), left a day earlier.
"We have turned over to the courts 18 technicals [battlewagons] and 300 men," Yusuf Mire Serar, the JVA vice-chairman, and a member of the Transitional Federal Parliament, said. Serar added that he had no regrets in turning over his weapons and militia to the UIC. "We did it in the interest of the people and to avoid unnecessary bloodshed. Today, I can tell you I am a relieved man. I have no regrets."
The city, which had been tense since Monday’s takeover by the UIC, was reported to be calm on Thursday with no demonstrations.
Hours after the UIC took control of the third-largest city in the country, one person was killed in a demonstration by hundreds of traders as UIC forces fired shots to disperse anti-Islamist demonstrators.
The protest was reportedly organised by 'khat' traders after the UIC announced a ban on flights to Kismayo with the popular narcotic. "They [the traders] were angry that the courts have banned a business they were making a living from," an eyewitness in the city said. The UIC said the ban would be in effect over the month of Ramadan.
"There is still some tension in the city. There are people who have not completely accepted the courts’ takeover," said a local journalist. "There are some elders who are trying to calm things down."
Another source told IRIN: "There were worries that with two armed groups in the city there may be confrontations, but with yesterday's [Wednesday] hand-over that worry is now over."
Ibrahim Shukri, the UIC spokesman in Kismayo, acknowledged that there were still "some people, from the previous administration, who have not accepted the new reality and are unhappy. They are trying to foment trouble but they will not succeed". He said the UIC was in constant dialogue with elders and other community leaders "to sort out any lingering misunderstanding".
The JVA militiamen would be demobilised and sent to rehabilitation camps, he said. "After their rehabilitation those fit enough will join the security forces," Shukri said.
The UIC had already sent hundreds of demobilised militias of the warlords it had defeated in Mogadishu to "rehabilitation" camps.
Kismayo’s capture has cemented the UIC's control over all ports in southern and central Somalia. It also extended the group's control over south-central Somalia, isolating the TFG in Baidoa.
The TFG has condemned the capture of the city and termed it "an act of aggression". The TFG was installed in late 2004 but has been unable to assert its authority over the country.
ah/mw
[ENDS]
This material comes to you via IRIN, a UN humanitarian information unit, but may not necessarily reflect the views of the United Nations or its agencies. If you re-print, copy, archive or re-post this item, please retain this credit and disclaimer. Quotations or extracts should include attribution to the original sources. All materials copyright © UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs 2006
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