Somalis hope Afro-Arab force can help peacekeepers

Somalis hope Afro-Arab force can help peacekeepers
Sun Sep 23, 2007 4:21am EDT

By Aweys Yusuf and Abdi Sheikh

MOGADISHU (Reuters) - Somalis in Mogadishu have broadly
welcomed calls for an Arab-African peacekeeping force to
replace Ethiopians troops supporting their interim
government, which is being battered by an insurgency.

Ethiopian artillery, tanks and war planes helped fighters
loyal to the fragile administration rout rival Islamists from
the capital in a brief conflict over the New Year.

But the continued presence of soldiers from a Christian-led
neighbor that many Somalis view as an enemy has raised
tensions among many residents of Muslim Somalia who are
weary of war.

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The call for a new Arab-African force under the aegis of the
United Nations came in a visit to Saudi Arabia a week ago by
Prime Minister Mohamed Gedi and President Adbullahi Yusuf.

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