Somali warlords banned from entering Kenya

The Kenyan government has banned Somali warlords who are responsible for the latest vicious fighting from entering the country as clashes rages in the Horn of Africa nation.

In a statement issued on Tuesday night, Kenya who chairs the seven-nation regional grouping, the Inter-Governmental Authority on Development (IGAD), said it has imposed total ban on all forms of travel into Kenya by Somali warlords and their associates.

"The government of Kenya, has with immediate effect, imposed a total ban on all forms of travel into Kenya by Somali warlords and their associates," said the statement issued by the Foreign Affairs Ministry.

The east African nation said it would not allow its territory to be used by individuals who were destabilizing their country thus undermining ongoing efforts to restore normalcy in the lawless Horn of Africa nation.

However, the statement did not name the warlords or associates affected by the ban, but Kenyan authorities said it targeted members of the Alliance for the Restoration of Peace and Counter- Terrorism (ARPCT) who were sacked by Prime Minister Ali Mohammed Gedi on Sunday.

They include National Security Minister Mohamed Afrah Qanyare, Commerce Minister Muse Sudi Yalahow, Militia Minister Bootaan Isse Ali and Religious Affairs Minister Omar Mohamed Mohamud.

The Somali transitional government, originally set up in neighboring Kenya is based in Baidoa, 250 km southwest of Mogadishu, and has been working with IGAD, the African Union and the international community to develop a national security and stabilization plan.

The statement came as the Somali warlord alliance vowed to resist Islamic militias that claimed to have seized control of Mogadishu on Monday.

It also came as top United Nations envoy for Somalia called on Islamic forces to enter into talks with all parties in an effort to bring stability to the country that has been torn by factional fighting for the past 15 years.

The Islamic militia is gaining ground just as the UN-backed interim government struggles to assert control outside its base in Baidoa.

The militia is the first group to consolidate control over all of Mogadishu's neighborhoods since the last government collapsed in 1991 and warlords took over, dividing this impoverished country of 8 million people into a patchwork of rival fiefdoms.

Many Somali warlords, who have ruled much of the lawless African nation since it was plunged into chaos, own property in Kenya or have assets and investments here.

Kenya, which shares a border with Somalia, hosted the peace talks that led the creation of the transitional government in 2004 and was its home in exile for a year.

The battle between the militia and the secular alliance has been intensifying in recent months, with more than 350 people killed and 1,700 wounded -- many of them civilians caught in the crossfire.

Currently Mogadishu is the only capital in the world where the UN does not have access for international humanitarian staff, due to insecurity, despite an estimated 250,000 internally displaced living in the city.

The aid community is especially concerned over the delay in the polio and measles immunization campaigns.

Source: Xinhua