Somalia’s President visited for the first time the
southern port of Kismayu on Thursday, a former Islamist stronghold now
controlled by a warlord long opposed to rule of central government, his
spokesman said.
The move comes amid efforts to bolster support for
central government from breakaway regions, and to combat a common
threat of Al-Qaeda linked Al-Shaabab insurgents, who control large areas
circling the port city.
Al-Shaabab spokesman Abdulaziz Abu Musab boasted
of firing dozens of artillery and mortar rounds at the “infidel leader”
as the President landed, but officials dismissed that as lies.
Kismayu, patrolled by Kenyan and Sierra Leonean
troops in the African Union force, is controlled by the Ras Kamboni
militia of warlord Ahmed Madobe, who claims leadership over the southern
semi-autonomous region of Jubaland in defiance of government in
Mogadishu.
Abdirahman Omar Osman, spokesman for President
Hassan Sheikh Mohamud, gave no further details of the visit by the
internationally-backed leader, but it signals a significant step forward
in relations with the breakaway region.
However, he dismissed claims by the Al-Shaabab—
who were forced from the port last year by invading Kenyan troops
fighting alongside Madobe’s men — that they had attacked the President
as he landed.
“There were no mortar attacks at Kismayu airport contrary to Al-Shaabab claims,” Mr Osman added.
Jubaland lies in the far south of Somalia,
bordering both Kenya and Ethiopia, and control is split between multiple
forces including clan militia, the Al-Shaabab and Kenyan and Ethiopian
soldiers.
Al-Shaabab forces control their last major port at
Barawe, some 250km northeast of Kismayu, which has long been eyed by AU
forces as a strategic prize to take.
Taking Barawe would also link up AU forces currently split between Jubaland and the capital Mogadishu.
SOURCE: AFRICA REVIEW
SOURCE: AFRICA REVIEW
