Thousands of Somalis protest peacekeeping proposals

(17 Jun 2006) Mogadishu 1. Wide shot of demonstration, large crowd cheering 2. Mid shot with demonstrators holding posters 3. Close-up of poster, reads (English): "We are against frontline troops including Ethiopian. Down Ethiopia" 4. Speaker raising his arms and chanting "Alla Akbhar" 5. Wide shot of demonstrators 6. Wide shot of Sheik Abdulkadir Ali Omar, a leader of the Islamic Courts Union 7. SOUNDBITE (Somali): Sheik Abdulkadir Ali Omar, a leader of the Islamic Courts Union: "What you are hearing lately and seeing the news throughout the world, that we succeeded to push out and flush out all the warlords from the town of Mogadishu and its satellites." 8. Journalists El Laan Port, southeast of Mogadishu 9. Various of security in the harbour - soldiers in civilian clothing 10. Wide shot of trucks being filled with fuel 11. Various of man fetching fuel from tank, filling his truck tank 14. Various of ship viewed from shore 15. Moving shot of security driving in jeep 16. Truck workers unloading timber from ship 17. Harbour chairman walking, talking to man 18. SOUNDBITE (English): Abdulkadir Nur, Chairman of El Laan Port: "The main Mogadishu seaport was closed because of political reasons and we hope now since the political situation has changed that the port and the airport in Mogadishu can be opened soon and there can be support by the people." 19. Wide shot of workers unloading food from ships 20. Various of workers unloading sacks 21. Wide shot of security men and workers walking around the seaport 22. Security men with machine guns getting into truck STORYLINE: More than 10,000 Somalis demonstrated Friday against a plan to call in foreign peacekeepers, insisting that an Islamic militia advancing across the country can restore law and order better than an internationally backed government struggling to assert its authority. The protest, coming amid signs of a deepening divide between the weak government and the Islamic militia now ruling Mogadishu, was also aimed at Ethiopia. The government's proposal for foreign peacekeepers was limited to troops from Uganda and Sudan in part to allay fears that troops from traditional rival Ethiopia would be included in any peacekeeping mission. But many Somalis think any foreign troop project could be an opening for Ethiopia, seen as an ally of transitional President Abdullahi Yusuf. Women dressed in robes and veils made up a third of the demonstration, segregated from the men. Several waved copies of the Quran, shouting "We don't want foreigners!" A leader of the Islamic Courts Union - the group behind the militiamen that have swept across southern Somalia installing clan-based, religiously oriented municipal administrations - told journalists that his group rejected the idea of peacekeepers. Sheik Abdulkadir Ali Omar, the deputy chairman of the union, also said that the warlords had been pushed out of Mogadishu. The Islamic group's only competition for control of southern Somalia is Yusuf's transitional government. It is supported by Somalia's neighbours, the United Nations, the United States and the European Union, so opposing it could mean regional and international isolation and possibly crippling sanctions for any administration the Islamic forces try to build. The transitional government, whose military consists of little more than the president's personal militia, has watched from the sidelines as the Islamic forces overcame a coalition of secular warlords to take control of southern Somalia. Elsewhere, workers unloaded goods from ships docked at El Laan Port, southeast of Mogadishu. Find out more about AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork Twitter:   / ap_archive   Facebook:   / aparchives   ​​ Instagram:   / apnews   You can license this story through AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/you...