Mogadishu Mayor Vows to Hit Terrorists

Armed with anti aircraft gun mounted on a lorry, Somali Transitional Federal Government soldiers patrol on the outskirts of the Somali capital Mogadishu, Wednesday, May 2, 2007. Mogadishu's new mayor and one of the country's most feared and ruthless warlords, Mohamed Dheere, told The Associated Press on Wednesday that the "time of terrorists is over." (AP Photo/ Mohamed Abdulle Hassan Siidi) (Mohamed Abdulle Hassan Siidi - AP)

Not everyone is hopeful peace can be built by warlords like Dheere, who ran roughshod over this African nation of 8 million people after overthrowing dictator Mohamed Siad Barre in 1991. The country split into rival fiefdoms and plunged into chaos.

Ted Dagne, an expert on Somalia at the Congressional Research Service, said the warlords' appointments "do not address the root causes of the problem facing Somalis."

A peace conference planned for this month is the best hope for that, he said.

"The key test is going to be not just the appointment of individuals to key positions, but what this reconciliation conference does for those who feel they've been sidelined by the Transitional Federal Government," he said. "That has to include the moderate elements of the Islamic Courts."

The Islamic militant group known as the Council of Islamic Courts seized power last year in Mogadishu and much of Somalia's south, bringing a semblance of order to the capital for the first time in years, in part by driving out the warlords' militias.

But the Islamists were ousted over the New Year by government and Ethiopian troops, with the help of U.S. special forces sent by Washington, which has long accused the Muslim hard-liners of having ties to al-Qaida and worries about Somalia becoming a haven for extremists.

The Somali government is now trying to reunite the capital, but is struggling to overcome an insurgency that has sparked some of the worst fighting in 15 years.

Despite the government's overtures to clans, conflicts remain, particularly between Yusuf's Darod clan and the Hawiye's Habr Gedir, which are traditional enemies. Habr Gedir elders have accused Yusuf of favoring his own clansmen and recruiting only Darod into the new Somali army.

Yusuf was not available for comment Wednesday, and other top officials refused to discuss the issue.

Mogadishu resident Mohamed Mohamud Burale said that after all the fighting in his city, the government was wise to start trying to bridge clan lines.

"It could lead to peace," the 26-year-old said. "It may be that nobody would go against the government."

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AP writer Elizabeth A. Kennedy in Nairobi, Kenya, contributed to this report.