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Somali President Faces Mission Impossible
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Somalia’s Ahmed…
mission impossible lies ahead
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By
Ali Halni, IOL Correspondent
MOGADISHU,
October 12 (IslamOnline.net) – Faced with a mission that seems
impossible, newly-elected Somali President Abdullahi Yusuf Ahmed hopes
to see a federal Somalia under a strong central government.
Following
years of chaos, Somalia interim parliament, gathered in the Kenyan
capital Nairobi, has selected Ahmed Sunday, October 10, to be the
first president in 14 years for the war-ravaged country.
Twenty-five
candidates entered the race, 24 of which were either eliminated in the
first two rounds or withdrew.
Ahmed
won the race in the third round run-off ballot after trouncing his
rival, former diplomat and minister Abdullahi Ahmed Adow, by 189 votes
to 79.
Military
Career
Born
in 1934 in the central Somalia city of Galcaio, the Somali president
graduated from military faculties in Italy and the former Soviet
Union. Joining the ranks of the Somali Army, Ahmed promoted, rising to
the rank of colonel during the era of dictator Mohamed Siyad Berre.
Ahmed
also studied at the faculty of law in Somalia but was arrested by the
Somali security authorities and did not obtain a law degree.
In
1969, Yusuf was detained for six years following the military coup of
led by Berre in October 1969. Following the outbreak of war between
Somalia and Ethiopia in 1977, Ahmed was not only released, but was
also appointed as an army commander.
Barre
held dictatorial rule over Somalia from October 1969, when he led a
bloodless military coup against the elected government, until January
1991.
Failed
Coup
In
1978, Ahmed, along with other Somali senior army officers carried out
a failed coup against the then incumbent president Berre.
Following
the failed bid, a group of officers were sentenced to death, but Ahmed
escaped Somalia for neighboring Ethiopia where he formed the first
Somalia Salvation Defense Front to oppose Barre.
In
1986, the newly-elected president was arrested by the Ethiopian
authorities under an agreement between Barre and his Ethiopian
counterpart Mengistu Haile Mariam.
In
1991, Somali warlords overthrew Barre and turned their guns on one
other, dividing the country of about 7 million people.
Ahmed
took a position in the Somali city of Bosaso in southeast Somalia with
his Salvation front, causing bloody conflicts with the Islamic Union
front stationed in the area.
In
1993, he was arrested by the Islamic Union militias but was later
released following a tribal mediation.
He
was nominated in 1998 president of the autonomous northeastern region
of Puntland.
Federalism
The
new president is known for his strong inclination towards federalism
as the best means to achieve stability in Somalia after years of civil
war.
He
is also known to favor open market policies and establishing strong
relations with western countries.
Following
elections, victorious Ahmed vowed relentless efforts to reconstruct
the country which has been devastated by years of factional fighting
since 1991.
Since
the 1991 fall of Barre, Somalia has lacked almost all the trappings of
a functional state, such as national systems of education, healthcare
and justice.
The
African Union has said it was
considering sending such a force, but no detailed plan has yet
been unveiled.
The
last international intervention in Somalia was a disaster.
A
UN mission deployed from 1992 to 1995 provided famine relief but
failed to restore peace.
The
United States also hurriedly withdrew its forces after 18 of them were
killed during a botched mission in Mogadishu in October 1993.
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