Yusuf resigns as Somalia's president
Says insurgents split the nation; Clan militias buying weapons
NAIROBI - Somali President Abdullahi Yusuf resigned yesterday, conceding that Islamist insurgents had overtaken much of the country and that he had been unable to unite the perpetually fragmented Horn of Africa nation.
"Most of the country is not in our hands," Yusuf said in a speech before parliament in the town of Baidoa, describing the nation as "paralyzed."
The 74-year-old leader was accused by his opponents of ruling like a warlord, encouraging clan divisions, and blocking a UN-backed political settlement that many now see as a long shot hope for salvaging Somalia's first central government since 1991.
The most optimistic observers say Yusuf's exit will clear the way for a more inclusive government that will undermine support for the hard-line Islamist militia known as al-Shabab, which the United States has designated a terrorist group.
The United Nations' top diplomat for Somalia, Ahmedou Ould-Abdallah, praised Yusuf's decision, saying in a statement that "a new page of Somalia history is now open."
But there is a bleaker scenario, one best expressed by a Somali lawmaker who was busy yesterday evacuating his staff members, money, family, and possessions from the town of Baidoa, where Somalia's fractious parliament seemed to be disintegrating by the hour. The lawmaker, Abdul Kadir Nur Arale, a Yusuf supporter, had already evacuated to Nairobi, in neighboring Kenya.
"The militiamen in the area and the Shabab, they all feel that now is the time to act," Arale said. "It is time for the scramble for power."
The speaker of parliament will assume the presidency until lawmakers choose a new leader, which is supposed to happen within 30 days. It is unclear, however, whether the 275-member parliament will be able to muster the necessary numbers to do so, as Yusuf's supporters leave and others flee, fearing for their lives.
Yusuf flew to his home yesterday in the northern region of Puntland, and many said that members of his clan, the Darod, would follow him there, abandoning positions in government and setting the stage for another period of all-out clan warfare. Others speculated that Puntland would declare independence, as some Somalis increasingly believe that the only viable form of government is a decentralized federation of clan-based regions.
At the same time, there were signs of a new dimension to Somalia's conflict: a power struggle among Islamist factions. The Shabab fought a more moderate Islamist militia known as Ahlu-Sunna Wal-Jama in central Somalia. And a new group known as the Juba Resistance Movement announced itself, saying it was devoted to battling Shabab.
"People in lower and middle Shabelle are ready to fight Shabab and take over the region," said one of its founders, Mohamed Amin Abdullahi Osman, who is allied with moderate Islamists. "I'm sure other regions are the same."
Not long after Yusuf's announcement, mortar shells were being fired in the capital, Mogadishu, according to the Reuters news agency. Clan militias have begun buying guns at the local market, where the price of an AK-47 assault rifle is a reliable barometer of coming conflict. In the past week, it has nearly doubled, with many in the capital expecting that the Shabab will attempt to advance once Yusuf's Ethiopian backers withdraw, as they have promised to do within days.
"The Shabab will probably make a push, but Yusuf being there would have only made things worse," said a Western diplomat in the region who was not authorized to speak publicly, adding that a total collapse of the government and reversion to clan warfare "is certainly a possibility."
Yusuf, a former army colonel, was selected four years ago to head a transitional government cobbled together in the conference rooms of Nairobi hotels by warlords, clan elders and diplomats hoping to create a balance of power among Somalia's four biggest clans.
The internationally recognized transitional federal government, or TFG, was installed two years ago following a US-backed Ethiopian invasion. The aim was to dislodge a relatively diverse Islamist movement that had taken over Mogadishu and other areas of the moderate Muslim nation, creating a semblance of stability by placing religion above clan.
But the US policy almost immediately backfired.
Often saying he was fighting "terrorists," Yusuf used the nascent army and police forces, bankrolled by the United Nations, to settle old scores with the Hawiye, the dominant clan in the seaside capital. That, along with the presence of the Ethiopians, inspired a relentless insurgency of clan militias and Islamist fighters that has displaced more than a million Somalis across the drought-stricken country.
The lack of security has blocked most humanitarian aid, and some UN officials describe the situation as the worst humanitarian crisis in the world if measured by unmet need.
The Bush administration has remained uncritical of Yusuf, focusing mostly on counter-terrorism. During his tenure, the United States launched six known airstrikes targeting alleged Al Qaeda operatives in Somalia, including the alleged perpetrators of the 1998 US embassy bombings in Kenya and Tanzania. 