Hardline Islamists ruling much of Somalia reacted with fury yesterday when the United Nations approved a call for foreign peace-keepers to prop up the weak, Western-backed transitional government. The 15 members of the UN Security Council voted unanimously late on Wednesday for a force of African-only troops to be sent to Somalia, where radical Islamists have seized control of much of the country in recent months. Elements in Mogadishu's Islamic Courts Union (ICU) said such troops would be an "enemy invasion".
"The decision to bring foreign troops will spark a new crisis in Somalia," Sheikh Abdurahim Muddey, an Islamist movement spokesman, told AFP. "I tell you that this UN endorsement will massively increase casualty figures and the number of graves in this country." The resolution calls for a contingent drawn from African countries to deploy to the seat of the transitional federal government (TFG) in Baidoa with the aim of supporting peace and stability "through an inclusive political process". It encourages further dialogue between the government and the Islamists, saying the charter that established the TFG constitutes "the only route to achieving peace and stability in Somalia".
It presses the ICU to halt its territorial expansion which has seen them take control of huge swathes of the country since wresting Mogadishu from US-backed warlords in June. Somalia's neighbours will not be contributing to the planned force. The Islamists would under no circumstances accept Ethiopians. Addis Ababa has already sent thousands of soldiers and large amounts of military hardware to Somalia in an effort to stop the radicals reaching out to Ethiopia's own disaffected Muslim minority. There are no details of the size of the deployment, and it is not clear who will pay for it. The European Union ruled out giving any money. This means that any actual deployment is unlikely for several months, at best.