Government asks Kenya to reopen airspace

Somalia's interim government has requested neighbouring Kenya to allow direct flights to resume between Mogadishu and Nairobi, an official said.

Mohamed Ali Nur, Somalia's ambassador to Kenya, told reporters that a delegation of Kenyan officials had visited Mogadishu airport. "The delegation from Kenya will make an assessment and recommendations," the ambassador said. "The Kenyan government will also open its embassy in Mogadishu soon.”

Kenya suspended direct flights to Mogadishu in November, citing security reasons, just before a combined force of Ethiopian and Somali troops routed the Union of Islamic Courts from the capital. African Union (AU) troops have since been deployed around the airport.

However, Mogadishu and its airport have witnessed an increase in violence since the beginning of the year. The airport was hit by mortars on 24 January, injuring four people, and again on 6 March as AU troops arrived.

Nur denied reports that insecurity had forced 40,000 people to flee the city. "The TFG [Transitional Federal Government] has put in place elaborate security measures to ensure peace prevails. Already 8,000 TFG trained forces have been incorporated in the security force and are currently undertaking patrols in Mogadishu," he said.

Somalia has had no effective central government since 1991, when Siyad Barre was toppled and the country disintegrated into fiefdoms controlled by warlords. The TFG, which was set up in Kenya in 2004, is the latest attempt at rebuilding the failed state.

re/mw