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Kismayo Port Closed for Third Day By Clan Militias


Garowe Online (Garowe)


NEWS
2 January 2008
Posted to the web 3 January 2008
Garowe

Port operations have been halted for the third straight day Tuesday in the
southern Somali city of Kismayo after disgruntled clan militias took control,
sources said.

The militias are loyal to Abdirisak "Tano" Farah, formerly chairman of the
political wing of the Marehan, the clan group whose troops and allied militias
wrestled control of Kismayo last April from the regional administration
appointed by the transitional federal government.



Marehan clan elders met in Kismayo last week and voted Tano out, replacing him
with Ismail Qalinle.

But Tano's loyal gunmen took to the streets and setup roadblocks in different
parts of town, and especially along the road that leads to the port,
independent sources in Kismayo told Garowe Online.

The confidential sources said Mr. Tano recently met with a group of people in
Kismayo, including figures waging war against the transitional government in
Mogadishu.

The figures include former officials in the now-defunct Jubba Valley Alliance,
a militia coalition that ruled Kismayo between 1999 and 2006, until they were
ousted by the Islamic Courts movement after the JVA split into two wings.

The Marehan clan elders' move to oust Mr. Tano was secretly backed by Ethiopian
military commanders in Mogadishu, the sources added.

The Ethiopian government has long refused the transitional government from
taking military action on Kismayo following armed clashes last April that
resulted with the expulsion for the government-appointed administration.

Somali President Abdullahi Yusuf admitted last month that Kismayo is not under
the control of his government, but indicated that he seeks a political solution
to the clan-based dispute.

Kismayo residents fear the current standoff might lead to armed conflict in a
city still recovering from last April's battles.


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