Somalia's fractured interim government and a weak opposition faction it inked a peace deal with late last year are becoming increasingly at odds with each other, as violence rages in different parts of the country.
The Alliance for Re-liberation of Somalia (ARS), a divided opposition faction led by Islamist politician Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmed, says its representatives are ready to implement the Djibouti Agreement and form a 'unity government' by joining the Somali parliament.
"On our side, we have completed the representatives required from us and we are ready to work together and to respect the Djibouti Agreement," Sheikh Sharif said in Djibouti, while warning against the collapse of the peace agreement.
Another official, Saleban Olad Roble, the ARS information secretary, told reporters in Mogadishu Monday that "there are no obstacles [coming] from our side," adding: "We recognize the international community's commitment to bring together TFG and ARS to Djibouti and elect new leadership."
He warned against "separate agendas" that could destroy the Djibouti Agreement, while requesting parliament Speaker Sheikh Adan "Madobe" Mohamed – the Acting President since Abdullahi Yusuf's Dec. 29 resignation – to support the peace process and the formation of a 'unity government.'
Election commission
Speaker Madobe declared yesterday that the 275-seat Somali transitional federal parliament will elect the next president on Jan. 26 in Baidoa, the seat of parliament. READ BELOW: Confusion over timetable for Somalia's presidential election
On Monday, he established a 15-member 'election commission' composed of Somali lawmakers that would "prepare for the presidential election" on Jan. 26.
"There are a few gentlemen who want to spoil the presidential election and we encourage them to join the election," the Acting President told reporters at the Baidoa press conference.
Meanwhile, Somali Prime Minister Nur "Adde" Hassan Hussein landed at Mogadishu's Aden Adde International Airport after visiting Kenya and Ethiopia.
He did not speak with reporters, but government spokesman Abdi Haji Gobdon said the Prime Minister was discussing security matters with commanders from the Ethiopian army and the African Union peacekeeping force.
Prime Minister Nur Adde has supported the ARS position by calling for the expansion of parliament to 550 MPs, as stipulated by the Djibouti Agreement. The new parliament would then elect a new Speaker and a new President, who appoints the next Prime Minister.
Worsening violence
At least 11 people were killed Monday in parts of Mogadishu after insurgents targeted the Villa Somalia presidential compound and a busy market was bombarded.
The insurgents used mortars to target Villa Somalia on a day the Prime Minister returned home.
Somali and Ethiopian troops stationed inside the presidential compound responded with heavy artillery, with witnesses saying many civilians were killed when the capital's main Bakara Market was shelled.
"Eight people were killed inside a hotel near Bakara [Market] called Hotel Kismayo," a witness said on Mogadishu radio.
Businesses closed and people ran for their lives. No group has claimed responsibility for the attacks.
But Hussein Siyad Qorgab, the ARS official, accused a breakaway Eritrea-based ARS faction led by Sheikh Hassan Dahir Aweys for attacks that killed at least 12 people a day earlier.
He suggested that Ethiopian troops planning to withdraw from select facilities in Mogadishu were "postponed" by the attacks.
Somalia has been mired in armed conflict since the early 1990s, when warlords overthrew the last effective government and plunged the Horn of Africa country into chaos.
Many clauses in the UN-brokered Djibouti Agreement have not been implemented, including a clause calling for an immediate ceasfire.
Islamist hardliners, including ARS-Eritrea and Al Shabaab militants, have rejected the peace process and continue waging guerrilla attacks against the government and its foreign allies.
As Somali government leaders and ARS-Djibouti officials continue to bicker over parliament seats, the country descends into deeper chaos and a humanitarian crisis that is worsening by the day.
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