AU Visits Somalia for Peacekeeping Talks

Former police officers loyal to Somalia's transitional government patrol a street of Mogadishu, Saturday, Jan. 13, 2007. Somali lawmakers voted Saturday to authorize the government to declare martial law, the deputy parliament speaker said, as the country's internationally recognized leaders struggle to assert their authority after battling an Islamic movement that had controlled much of southern Somalia. (AP Photo/Mohamed Sheikh Nor) (Mohamed Sheikh Nor - AP)

The AU visit comes as Somali troops and allied Ethiopian soldiers are struggling to disarm Mogadishu residents reluctant to give up their guns after years of fending for themselves in the chaos.

Hassan Mohamoud said soldiers entered his house early Sunday and took his Kalashnikov assault rifle.

"I bought the gun about 10 years ago in order to safeguard myself and my family," he said. "But now I worry about whether the government will take responsibility for our safety."

Another resident, Abdi Yusuf, said some children had thrown stones at the troops, but the situation was calm. "The soldiers did not react," he said.

Government spokesman Abdirahman Dinari said the search was taking place in several neighborhoods but he refused to comment on the number of weapons seized, saying it was a military secret.

On Saturday, Somalia's acting parliament voted to allow the government to impose martial law for up to three months, but Dinari said he did not know when Yusuf would sign such a decree.

The spokesman also said he had no details about reported airstrikes Saturday by Ethiopian jets on at least one village in the south. A traditional elder in the area reported at least three civilians were killed.

The air attack came a day after Ethiopian-backed government forces reported capturing the last stronghold of the Islamic movement, Ras Kamboni, at the southern tip of Somalia. But officials said further fighting was likely as troops pursued Islamic militiamen in that area.

Dinari said Sunday that government troops had captured Muslims from Chechnya, Eritrea, Sweden and Britain who were fighting for the Islamic movement.

Four Kenyans who returned from Somalia after the Islamic militia was routed reportedly were arrested and accused of being terrorists.

A member of Kenya's parliament, Abdillahi Sheik Dahir, called the arrest a mistake, saying Saturday that the men were businessmen who went to Somalia to buy cheap cars before fighting erupted last month.

"These are innocent businessmen with nothing to do with al-Qaida," he said.

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Associated Press writers Mohamed Olad Hassan and Salad Duhul contributed to this report.