Bloomberg
Wednesday, September 07, 2011
“I am very confident if we show unity we can overcome these challenges and because of the agreements reached today I am optimistic for the future,” Sheikh Sharif said at a celebratory dinner in Mogadishu, the capital.
Somali politicians including lawmakers, the heads of the autonomous states of Puntland and Galmudug and the pro- government Ahlu Sunna Wal Jama’a militia agreed yesterday to a so-called road map that will end a transitional administration formed in 2004. The Western-backed government, headed by Sheikh Sharif, has failed to end a two-decade long civil war in the Horn of Africa country.
The agreement marks a “monumental step” forward in bringing peace to Somalia, Wafula Wamunyinyi, deputy special representative to the African Union Commission for Somalia, said in an e-mailed statement today. The signatories must now “focus on the more difficult work of implementing the tasks,” he said.
The accord was signed after a three-day conference in Mogadishu, the first “major meeting” in the city in four years, according to the United Nations. Security in Mogadishu has improved after al-Shabaab, the rebel group accused by the U.S. of having links to al-Qaeda, withdrew its forces last month after a four-year campaign to oust Sheikh Sharif’s administration.
Constitution, Elections
In terms of the road map, the country’s 550-member parliament must be reformed by November 19; a final draft constitution should be published by May 18 and adopted by July 1; and presidential and parliamentary elections must be held by Aug. 20, according to a signed copy of the document e-mailed by the UN Political Office for Somalia today.
Sheikh Sharif, whose government is backed by a 9,000-strong African Union peacekeeping mission known as Amisom, spoke at a function attended by participants in the conference, where a local band provided entertainment by playing patriotic songs.
“Due to the brave efforts of the Somali National Army and our brothers Amisom we are able to enjoy a night like this in Mogadishu,” Sheikh Sharif said.
Tens of thousands of people have died in Somalia this year and 750,000 more are at risk of starvation amid a famine that exists in at least six regions of southern Somalia, according to the UN. The number of people requiring food assistance has increased to 4 million, or 53 percent of Somalia’s population, from 3.7 million people in July, the UN said on Sept. 5.
Somalia hasn’t had a functioning central administration since the fall of Mohamed Siad Barre’s dictatorship in 1991.