Operation to remove illegal roadblocks begins

An operation by a section of the Somali government to rid the capital, Mogadishu, of illegal roadblocks manned by armed militia began on Tuesday, in a move aimed at restoring security to the war-torn city.

"Many of them were removed overnight," Mohamud Jama Sifir, the deputy prime minister in the Transitional Federal Government (TFG) told IRIN from Mogadishu. "There is tremendous public support. The mood in the city is expectant, and there will be no room for those who try to resist."

Government leaders who support the move said the initial stage of the exercise had been successful.

A crowd forced a group of militiamen who attempted to hold on to a roadblock on one of the city's thoroughfares to abandon it, local journalist Abdullahi Muhammad told IRIN on Tuesday.

The decision to dismantle the roadblocks was made on Monday at a meeting of former faction leaders who are now members of the TFG in Mogadishu.

Mogadishu's various factions and their militias have operated dozens of checkpoints in the city since the collapse of the administration headed by the late President Muhammad Siad Barre in 1991.

Somalia has had no functioning central authority since the collapse of Barre's government. Civil war erupted in the Horn of Africa state soon after Barre was toppled as various rival factions fought for power.

Since then, armed groups have used the roadblocks to extort money from residents.

"They were sources for financing militias and factions," Sifir said.

He added that non-political bodies such as religious groups and clans had also set other roadblocks.

As part of the dismantling plan, the armed men who ran the checkpoints would now stay in designated camps and be provided with food and allowances while plans were made to demobilise them, Sifir said.

Two sites in Mogadishu had already been identified, he said. The camps would accommodate the first group of about 1,400 men, and others would be opened to house an additional 1,500 ex-militiamen.

So far, the international community has not given any material support. The local community, including business and civil society groups, are expected to fund the initiative.

"We are in the pre-demobilisation stage - establishing conditions for demobilisation to happen," Sifir said. Proper disbandment of militias would entail the setting up of vocational-training programmes and providing education.

"It is a process that has started," he said. "The response has been beyond our expectation. It is a new dawn in Mogadishu."

Abdulkadir Yahye, a researcher with the Centre for Research and Dialogue, a local group affiliated with War-Torn Societies Project-International, welcomed the operation to clear roadblocks as a "brilliant idea", but said the exercise could encounter some problems.

Cantoning the militias without sufficient funding would be a challenge, Yahye said. "These camps have no shelter, no water - the initiative needs international support."

It was also likely that "freelance militias", those not under the control of any of the former faction leaders, could emerge and set up their own roadblocks, mainly because Mogadishu still had no police to enforce the decisions of political leaders, he said.

"It is a good beginning," Yahye said. "It is what everybody wanted, but it must be supported with sustained resources."

Somalia's transitional government was established in neighbouring Kenya in 2004 following peace talks between the country's various groups sponsored by the regional Inter-Governmental Authority on Development.

Most of the government's senior leadership - including President Abdullahi Yusuf Ahmed and Prime Minister Ali Muhammad Gedi - operates out of the Kenyan capital, Nairobi.

Security concerns and lack of resources have prevented many members of the administration from moving to Mogadishu.