Ethiopia's foreign minister
arrives in Somalia

Reuters
August 5, 2006

Militia formerly loyal to Somalia's President Abdullaha Yusuf wear Islamic headgear given to them by the Supreme Islamic Courts Council after they defected from Baidoa, the only town under government control. (AP Photo/Mohamed Sheikh Nor)

In the past week, 40 senior officials have deserted the government, many of them citing Prime Minister Ali Mohamed Gedi's reluctance to reach out to rival Islamists who control the capital Mogadishu and a large swathe of south Somalia.

Ethiopia is the government's strongest regional ally but reports that it has sent troops to protect the administration has sparked a stand-off with the Islamists.

"An Ethiopian delegation led by Foreign Affairs Minister Seyoum Mesfin arrived this morning in Baidoa and held a closed-door meeting with President Abdullahi Yusuf," Somalia government spokesman Abdirahman Dinari told Reuters.

"They came to settle the differences between the top officials of Somalia's government."

Dinari said the delegation would also meet Gedi, who narrowly survived a crucial confidence motion last week, and has come under increased pressure to resign.

Politicians say the government is split between Yusuf and parliamentary speaker Sharif Hassan Sheikh Adan, and Gedi who asked for proposed peace talks with Islamists to be postponed.

The interim government enjoys Western backing, but has virtually no authority over the Horn of Africa country, which has not known proper central rule since the 1991 ouster of military dictator Mohamed Siad Barre.

Islamists exposed the vulnerability of the administration, based in provincial town Baidoa, when they seized the capital Mogadishu from US-backed warlords in June.

Many Somalis believe the reports of Ethiopian troops and blame Gedi for their deployment across the border. Ethiopia has repeatedly denied it has troops in Somalia.

The Islamists' most powerful leader, hardline cleric Sheikh Hassan Dahir Aweys, has said his group will not negotiate unless Ethiopia withdraws its troops from Somali soil.

Desperate Gedi appoints seven ministers

Meanwhile, Gedi on Friday appointed seven new ministers as he started replacing the 38 who quit in the past week to protest against the deployment of Ethiopian troops to protect his 18-month-old administration, according to an AFP report.

Government spokesperson Abdirahman Mohamed Nur Dinari said Gedi made the appointments after consulting elders and lawmakers who support him at the transitional federal assembly, sitting in the town of Baidoa, about 250km north-west of the capital, Mogadishu.

"Following the powers given by the Constitution, the prime minister has appointed seven members of the Cabinet," Dinari said explaining that the premier will continue consulting to replace the remaining 31.

Of the 38 who resigned, 22 were full ministers and 16 were deputies. The prime minister has yet to replace assistant ministers, he added.

"They are all MPs; none of them is from the Islamic courts," Dinari added.

Gedi made the appointments nearly a week after he survived a vote of no confidence.

The motion was tabled to protest against his policies, including the deployment of Ethiopian troops to protect the government from a feared advance by a powerful Islamic militia that controls much of southern Somalia, including the capital.

The Islamists, who have refused peace talks with the government until Ethiopian troops are withdrawn, have urged the ministers who resigned to change camp and join them.

The Somali government, appointed in Kenya in late 2004 after more than two years of peace talks, was seen as the best chance for the lawless country to begin reunifying.

The Horn of Africa nations, home to 10-million people, has been wracked by anarchy since the 1991 ousting of dictator Mohamed Siad Barre, giving rise to unruly warlords who were evicted from their territories by the Islamists last month.

A total of 14 internationally backed initiatives had earlier failed to produce a government. Analysts blamed the failures on the warlords, who obtained weapons and other forms of support from neighbouring countries despite a United Nations arms embargo.