Prime Minister Ali Mohamed Gedi predicted that the gun collecting would go peacefully, saying the government has reached deals with major businesspeople and warlords holding about 60 percent of the city's weapons.
During a three-day grace period that ended Thursday, fewer than 50 Mogadishu residents turned in their guns, in a city of 2.5 million.
Gedi said the government will first focus on collecting heavy weapons, such as trucks mounted with anti-aircraft guns, known in Somalia as "technicals," and armored vehicles. The effort then will be expanded to include assault rifles and handguns owned by individuals. An aide said the government has identified about 400 technicals around the city that authorities plan to seize today.
The government is scrambling to complete disarmament as quickly as possible while it still has the support of more than 4,000 Ethiopian troops inside Somalia. Since Somali and Ethiopian troops seized the capital from Islamist fighters, the government has moved slowly to fill the security vacuum.
About 2,000 government soldiers are based around the capital, only half the number needed to secure the city, said Gedi.
About 500 newly trained police officers are en route to Mogadishu from the city of Baidoa, which has served as the government's interim capital. Somali officials are negotiating to bring in Africa Union peacekeepers from Uganda, Nigeria and South Africa.
Hussein Aidid, the interior minister, said Thursday that more than 3,000 former Islamist fighters are hiding in Mogadishu, including the leader of one of the Islamic courts' most extreme factions.
Both Gedi and Aidid plan to travel to Baidoa today for the parliament session and request approval to impose martial law.
Source: LA Times, Jan 05, 2007