African Union Threatens Sanctions Against Somalis

HAN "Djibouti Monitering
Dr. Ahmed yasin
Geeska Afrika Magazine

The African Union on Wednesday threatened sanctions against the Somali government or faction leaders who undermine the peace process in the ruined country.

Amara Essy, the AU's acting chairman, condemned repeated violations of an Oct. 27 cease-fire signed by Somalia's transitional government and more than 20 faction leaders controlling most of the country.

``Should the current situation continue, the African Union will call for the imposition of sanctions against all the Somali leaders and parties whose activities undermine the cause of reconciliation, peace and reconstruction in Somalia,'' Essy said in a statement. Mediators at the peace talks, which began Oct. 14, have set up a committee to investigate the cease-fire violations and study possible sanctions, which could include freezing assets or banning travel.

The talks have been dogged by disputes between the faction leaders and the government, as well as accusations of mismanagement and corruption. Somalia has not had an effective government since several warlords ousted dictator Mohamed Siad Barre in 1991. The country of 7 million disintegrated into a patchwork of battling fiefdoms ruled by heavily armed militias after the factions turned on each other.

A transitional government was elected at a peace conference in neighboring Djibouti in August 2000, but it has little influence outside the capital, Mogadishu.

The 53-member African Union replaced the largely ineffectual Organization of African Unity in July. The body has a mandate to help resolve the continent's myriad conflicts, but its power remains untested.

Sources: By ABEBE ANDUALEM, AP, and HAN

Kenya police detain al Qaeda suspect

NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) -- Kenyan police are holding a suspected member of the al Qaeda terrorist network who was captured with the help of unidentified Somalis, the minister of national security said Wednesday.

"This particular arrest was a joint effort by our security agents and some peace-loving Somali leaders who did not want to see terrorists operate in their country," the minister, Chris Murungaru, said in a statement.

The statement did not say so, but it was believed the unidentified man was captured in Mogadishu, the capital of Somalia, which has not had an effective government for more than a decade. Washington has cited Somalia, a Muslim nation in the Horn of Africa, as a possible haven for terrorists.

Murungaru said the suspect was an "al-Qaeda operative" wanted for questioning in connection with "multiple terrorist attacks in East Africa."

He declined to release details about the suspect.

Sources affiliated with Kaysaney Hospital in north Mogadishu said gunmen loyal to faction leader Mohamed Dhereh entered the hospital Tuesday and nabbed a man believed to be a Yemeni national, then handed him over to four or five white men -- believed to be Americans or Israelis.

The man is the same person who was injured Monday when unidentified gunmen tried to abduct him and police intervened, the sources said on condition of anonymity.

Witnesses identified the man as Abikar Mohamed Ali, a trader who dealt in electrical goods in the Somali capital.

A Somali business colleague said on condition of anonymity that the man was also known as Issa, and carried both South African and Yemeni passports. The colleague said the man had been in Mogadishu for about a year after entering the country by land from Kenya. He married a Somali woman a month ago, and two weeks later took her to Nairobi where she remained, the colleague said.

Kenya, which shares a long and porous border with Somalia, has been the victim of two terrorist attacks in the last five years.

General assignments reporter and can be reached Through HAN Email Edited by, Dr. Ahmed Yasin -HAN News Group.