Somali warlords agree to disarm militia and join army

Somalia’s warlords have agreed to disarm their militia and join a new national army, a government official said today.

The announcement followed a meeting between President Abdullahi Yusuf and clan warlords that continued even as, just outside, clan gunmen fired a rocket-propelled grenade and briefly exchanged gunfire with government troops.

The violence left at least six dead and 10 wounded.

“The warlords and the government have agreed to collaborate for the restoration of peace in Somalia,” said government spokesman Abdirahman Dinari.

Yusuf had met with three top Somali warlords and two other faction leaders, the spokesman said.

“The agreement means they have to disarm their militia and their men have to join the national army,” he told AP. There are believed to be around 20,000 militia in Somalia and the country is awash with guns. Rival clan fighting and warlords have already been the undoing of 13 other attempts at government in Somalia since the country collapsed into chaos in 1991.

“We fed up guns now we want to cooperate with the government,” one of Somalia’s most powerful warlords, Mohamed Qanyare Afrah, told AP after the meeting.

However, another warlord warned the government to choose the right leadership.