NAIROBI, July 24 (Reuters) – Newly appointed Somali Security Minister Abdullahi Mohamed Ali vowed on Friday to reform the security forces in the Horn of Africa nation, seen by many as riven with internal divisions.
Somalia’s western-backed government is struggling to wrest control over the anarchic nation from powerful Islamist-led rebels and is hemmed into a few blocks of the capital Mogadishu.
“I think, in wartimes, it is difficult for even a functioning government to organise its forces very effectively. We are trying to reform the police and the military,” he told Reuters by telephone.
“Our main priority is to gradually re-establish capable security forces that can defeat the terrorists.”
Hardline Islamist insurgents killed the former security boss, Omar Hashi Aden, in a suicide bomb attack in June in a central town as Aden coordinated operations against al Shabaab.
A two-year insurgency has killed at least 18,000 people and sent another million or more fleeing from their homes.
Somalia’s army — a mix of former rebels, clan militias and a few ex-army officers — has been unable to beat al Shabaab militants or rebels from another Islamist group, Hizbul Islam.
Neither insurgents nor the government have been able to deliver a knock-out blow, analysts say.
“The security challenges are quite enormous. Everybody understands that it’s the biggest challenge, and we are dealing with both humanitarian and security catastrophes in a lawless region,” said Ali, who was born in the Hiran region in 1968 and comes from the same clan and sub-clan as Aden.
“I recognize there is a lot of risk to the job, knowing my predecessor was assassinated by criminals and terrorist groups. No one is tarnishing his life … but we took the job to save our people,” he said.
NOT DIVIDED
Critics say that Ali inherits a deeply divided security apparatus. Some officials say a faction within the forces seized two French agents last week then passed them to rebels.
“There has never been any division in the security forces whatsoever. They are very committed to their job and they are united,” Ali said.
Ali worked for the United Nations since the 1990s before joining the prime minister’s office as chief of staff this year.
Western security services have long feared that Somalia with its instability and porous borders could become a haven for foreign militants looking to attack the region and elsewhere.
“There are no concrete statistics on the number of foreign fighters in the capital and other areas of the country, but it is obvious we have a large number and there is a threat that needs to be tackled,” he said.
“These foreigners play a leadership role.”
Independent analyst Hassan Hundubey said that Ali — who has no military background — was pushed upon Prime Minister Omar Abdirashid Sharmarke by powerful rebels-turned-ministers.
“The internal security ministry … is now in a difficult situation. I do not think its new boss will contribute much to security development when we look upon the weight of the assignment and the experience of the man,” he said.
“This was not (the prime minister’s) choice. The new minister was selected by a group of powerful ministers, who have ultimate say on government decisions … If the top leadership compromises the national interest to satisfy a few in the cabinet, that will jeopardise the whole system.”
Source: Reuters
By Abdiaziz Hassan
