New banknotes flood Mogadishu

Selling and buying in the main business centre of the Somali capital Mogadishu came to a standstill on Thursday after the market was flooded with billions of new Somali banknotes, news agencies reported on Thursday. The money, printed in Canada, arrived at Ballidogleh airport, 90 km south of Mogadishu. It had been ordered by a group of businessmen. A large consignment of the bank notes, worth about US $2.5 million, was escorted to central Bakara market by over 70 “technicals” - jeeps mounted with anti-aircraft guns - and more than 500 heavily-armed militiamen, the German news agency DPA reported. Previously, the arrival of newly-printed bank notes has caused increased insecurity, with militiamen setting up new road blocks. A source in Mogadishu told IRIN the money was suspected to have come from businessmen based in the self-declared autonomous region of Puntland, northeast Somalia. But other sources say the Canadian-printed consignment had been ordered by businessmen in Mogadishu. Faction leader in south Mogadishu, Hussein Farah Aideed, is said to be angry at the arrival of the money, fearing the business community will use it to undermine his authority, sources told IRIN.