By Aweys Yusuf and Abdi Sheikh
Saturday, September 01, 2007
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MOGADISHU (Reuters) - Somali mother-of-seven Hadiyo Ahmed believes only God can help Somalia, despite a peace conference that ended this week meant to end years of fighting.
"Hope has faded away from my heart," Ahmed said in the shell-shattered capital Mogadishu. "I feel tepid about both the government and the Islamists. I believe only Allah will give us peace."
The conference -- nearly 2,000 clan representatives meeting for six weeks in a heavily guarded old police garage in the north of the city -- resolved to end war in the Horn of African nation. More than a dozen other resolutions were passed.
But in Mogadishu, war-weary residents were pessimistic.
"I do not think the talks had any advantage for the Somali people," another mother, Fatuma Ali Hadey, told Reuters.
Mogadishu is one of the world's most dangerous cities, with gun battles between insurgents and security forces breaking out almost daily, along with grenade attacks and roadside bombs.
Residents take their lives in their hands just leaving home.
Underscoring scepticism about the peace talks, violence continued on Saturday. Two civilians and a policeman were reported killed in raids on several police stations by Islamist insurgents firing rockets.
The peace talks were meant to end 17 years of bloody clan feuds and anarchy since dictator Mohamed Siad Barre was toppled from power in 1991.
Some clan leaders themselves were doubtful.
Somali Islamic Courts Council (SICC) leaders and elders from Mogadishu's dominant Hawiye clan refused to attend the talks, saying the meetings were a government ploy aimed at siphoning money from the international community.
FIGHTING OVER SOMALIA
In June last year, warlords -- backed by the United States but despised locally -- were run out of Mogadishu by the SICC with decisive victories giving them total control.
They envisioned a Somalia under strict Islamic law, and many residents credited them with bringing a semblance of law and order to the chaotic capital.
But six months later, government troops backed by Ethiopian might ousted the SICC. A bloody insurgency has raged ever since, including deadly night ambushes by Islamist remnants.
Roadside bombs are a norm, while suicide bombers target senior officials, including President Abdullahi Yusuf and his premier Ali Mohamed Gedi.
Many residents mistrust leaders -- including a number of powerful former warlords -- who have never managed to reconcile.
With many key figures boycotting the conference, internal rivalries as intense as ever and security the worst it has been for years, most see little chance of success this time.
In spite of all this, some have kept faith in the talks.
"We killed one another because of land, water and power. They have now reached accords ... What we are expecting right now is peace and a steady government," a 45-year-old night guard who declined to be named told Reuters.
Source: Reuters, Sept 01, 2007