Hundreds protest in Somali capital over foreign peacekeeping force

MOGADISHU, Somalia (AP) _ Hundreds of Somalis demonstrated Thursday against a plan that would place foreign peacekeepers in the country. <br/><br/>The protesters chanted anti-government slogans and burned

Thursday, February 1st 2007, 6:09 am

By: News On 6

MOGADISHU, Somalia (AP) _ Hundreds of Somalis demonstrated Thursday against a plan that would place foreign peacekeepers in the country.

The protesters chanted anti-government slogans and burned tires, a day after the African Union said three battalions of peacekeepers from Uganda and Nigeria were ready to be deployed in Somalia and will be airlifted in as soon as possible.

``We will not tolerate foreign troops coming to our country,'' demonstrator Saida Hussien said. ``We will show the world that we are against the foreign troops.''

The demonstrators, who protested in northern Mogadishu _ an area known for its strong support of the Islamic group _ carried placards that read, ``We don't want foreign troops,'' and ``Down with Ethiopia,'' referring to Ethiopia's military intervention that routed the Council of Islamic Courts.

The protesters called for the return of the Islamic movement, which was credited with restoring some order in the violent nation.

Factional violence has again become a feature of life in Mogadishu since last month when Somali government troops with crucial support from Ethiopian soldiers, tanks and war planes ousted the Islamic movement. Mortar and grenade attacks have also been launched against Ethiopian and government troop garrisons in the city.

Ethiopian troops have begun withdrawing, presenting the possibility of a dangerous power vacuum.

The African Union was pressing ahead with its peacekeeping mission to Somalia despite securing only half the 8,000 troops needed at a key summit of African leaders that ended Tuesday. Five nations _ Uganda, Nigeria, Malawi, Burundi and Ghana _ have pledged around 4,000 troops so far.

Somalis are wary of a foreign peacekeeping force following the disastrous U.N. intervention in the early 1990s, a bloody period even by Somali's turbulent history.

Somalia has not had an effective national government since 1991, when warlords overthrew dictator Mohamed Siad Barre and then turned on one another, throwing the country into anarchy. The transitional government was formed in 2004 with U.N. help.