US fears over Somali peace force

Not all Somalis welcome the idea of foreign troops

The United States says it is opposed to the use of troops from neighbouring countries as peacekeepers in Somalia.

The new Somali president wants regional troops to help with the relocation of his government from its temporary home in neighbouring Kenya.

But key warlords are opposed to the inclusion of Ethiopian troops and there have been huge protests in the capital.

Since 1991, when the government fell, rival warlords have divided Somalia into a patchwork of fiefdoms.

Somalia's neighbours and especially Ethiopia have been accused of prolonging the anarchy by backing militias.

'Legitimate interests'

"The United States shares the concerns of the international community and many Somalis regarding the introduction of foreign troops into Somalia," US state department spokesman Richard Boucher said in a statement.

"Somalia's neighbours have legitimate national interests that are best protected by the successful establishment of a stable and effective central government in Somalia; however, any external force should exclude troops from those countries," he said.

Facts and figures about life in Somalia

At-a-glance

The US intervened militarily in Somalia in 1993. It is remembered in the west for the images of the bodies of US troops being dragged through the streets by gunmen.

Somalis accuse the US of killing hundreds of people.

On Monday, Somali President Abdullahi Yusuf Ahmed defended his proposal to invite peacekeepers from neighbouring countries, including Ethiopia.

He wants them to protect the government and to disarm the thousands of militiamen in Somalia.

He has just ended his first official visit to Somalia since being elected last year but did not go to the capital, Mogadishu, where he does not have a strong power base.

The African Union has authorised the deployment of thousands of troops from several regional countries to help with the relocation.