Yusuf Declares State of Emergency
Somalia's parliament agrees on a plan to restore order to their country
In efforts to prevent Mogadishu and Somalia from slipping back into anarcy and clan-based rivalry, Somalia's Baidoa-based government has declared a state of emergency.
On January 13, Somali's parliament voted in favour of a plan to restore order to their country, gripped by anarchy for 16 years. The weak institution, stationed in Baidoa, wants to move the seat of its authority to Mogadishu now that Ethiopian forces have evicted the Union of Islamic Courts (UIC), who controlled the city for six months. Amid fears that the Islamists will attempt to return and that there will be a revival of clan violence, Prime Minister Mohamed Gedi's parliament agreed almost unanimously on a three-month state of emergency.
President Adullahi Yusuf encouraged clan elders and warlords to cooperate and hand over all militia who the government claims will be trained and incorporated into the national army and police force. Some warlords, according to Reuters, have agreed to do so, however, a certain few have already capitalized on recent developments, attempting to force their way on the presidential palace on January 12 and engaging in a shootout with troops.
The Somalis have declared that they would like an African security force to be deployed and Uganda is ready to offer its soldiers to assist in establishing security to the chaotic Horn of Africa region. Leaders from further away have also expressed their concern. South Africa's Thabo Mbeki agreed that African peacekeepers should be present.
Power to the president
The terms of the state of emergency were not exact but it appears that President Yusuf wields a good deal of power and the support of parliament. Yusuf has been given great leniency on how and when to determine what rules should be enforced. Reuters has reported that public demonstrations and the possession of weapons have been banned.
While the Ethiopians drove out Islamists with relative ease before Christmas, it will be a test of the Somali interim government to see if they can keep the same kind of order brought by the UIC when they imposed severe restrictions on citizens. Ethiopia wants to withdraw its troops from Somalia within weeks but there is fear that the interim government will implode if this were to happen.
