NAIROBI, June 7 (Xinhua) -- The Kenyan government has banned Somali
warlords who are responsible for the latest vicious fighting from entering the
country as clashes rages in the Horn of Africa nation.
In a statement issued on Tuesday night, Kenya who chairs the seven-nation
regional grouping, the Inter-Governmental Authority on Development (IGAD), said
it has imposed total ban on all forms of travel into Kenya by Somali warlords
and their associates.
"The government of Kenya, has with immediate effect, imposed a total ban on
all forms of travel into Kenya by Somali warlords and their associates," said
the statement issued by the Foreign Affairs Ministry.
The east African nation said it would not allow its territory to be used by
individuals who were destabilizing their country thus undermining ongoing
efforts to restore normalcy in the lawless Horn of Africa nation.
However, the statement did not name the warlords or associates affected by
the ban, but Kenyan authorities said it targeted members of the Alliance for the
Restoration of Peace and Counter-Terrorism (ARPCT) who were sacked by Prime
Minister Ali Mohammed Gedi on Sunday.
They include National Security Minister Mohamed Afrah Qanyare, Commerce
Minister Muse Sudi Yalahow, Militia Minister Bootaan IsseAli and Religious
Affairs Minister Omar Mohamed Mohamud.
The Somali transitional government, originally set up in neighboring Kenya
is based in Baidoa, 250 km southwest of Mogadishu, and has been working with
IGAD, the African Union and the international community to develop a national
security and stabilization plan.
The statement came as the Somali warlord alliance vowed to resist Islamic
militias that claimed to have seized control of Mogadishu on Monday.
It also came as top United Nations envoy for Somalia called on Islamic
forces to enter into talks with all parties in an effort to bring stability to
the country that has been torn by factional fighting for the past 15 years.
The Islamic militia is gaining ground just as the UN-backed interim
government struggles to assert control outside its base in Baidoa.
The militia is the first group to consolidate control over all of
Mogadishu's neighborhoods since the last government collapsed in 1991 and
warlords took over, dividing this impoverished country of 8 million people into
a patchwork of rival fiefdoms.
Many Somali warlords, who have ruled much of the lawless African nation
since it was plunged into chaos, own property in Kenya or have assets and
investments here.
Kenya, which shares a border with Somalia, hosted the peace talks that led
the creation of the transitional government in 2004 and was its home in exile
for a year.
The battle between the militia and the secular alliance has been
intensifying in recent months, with more than 350 people killed and 1,700
wounded -- many of them civilians caught in the crossfire.
Currently Mogadishu is the only capital in the world where the UN does not
have access for international humanitarian staff, due to insecurity, despite an
estimated 250,000 internally displaced living in the city.
The aid community is especially concerned over the delay in thepolio and
measles immunization campaigns. Enditem
