President “upbeat” after overseas trips

Interim President Abdiqasim Salad Hasan said on his return to the Somali capital Mogadishu on Tuesday that his trips to Qatar, Sudan, Libya, Djibouti and Ethiopia had been very successful. The president was described as being in “the most upbeat mood since being elected”, sources close to the government told IRIN. He gave a brief speech to supporters, and later hosted a fast-breaking dinner for a group of people living in a camp for the displaced near his residence, the Mogadishu-based newspapers said. Abdiqasim’s delegation was escorted from Balidogle airport, 90 km from Mogadishu, by 700 heavily armed militiamen on 50 trucks mounted with heavy weapons, the Associated Press agency (AP) reported. Osman Hassan, reporter for AP, said the heavy security presence was “a reminder of how far he [Abdiqasim] must go to restore order in Somalia”.

After attending the IGAD meeting in Khartoum, Abdiqasim said he had made progress in talks with regional leaders there, political sources in Somalia said. Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi had suggested that Somalia’s arrears be cancelled, a proposal which, he said, was indicative of the neighbouring country’s concern for the welfare of Somalia, AP reported.