afrol News, 23 January - A report issued by the outgoing AU Commission Chairman, Alpha Oumar Konare, said anti-government militias in the country had spread their tentacles to less violent places - Middle and Lower Juba.

The militias are taking advantage of the transitional government's inability to deploy troops to all the regions. Its actions are calculated to destabilize the country and in the process weaken the government.

Militias that are believed to be remnants of the ousted Islamic Courts Union are reportedly recruiting and planning attacks on the Ethiopian-backed Somali troops.

Somali conflict is expected to be an important agenda of the scheduled African Union Summit in Ethiopian.

A delegation of African union officials on Wednesday arrived in the Somalian capital Mogadishu for a one day visit.

According to the AU Peace and Security Council Commissioner, Said Djinnit, the purpose of the visit is to demonstrate the continental body's support for the Somali government.

"On the other hand, we want to see welfare and the work of our troops, who are doing wonderful job here on our behalf," Commissioner Djinnit said.

The UN sent a delegation to Mogadishu to study the possibility of sending peacekeepers to replace the 1,600 AU forces mainly from Uganda and Burundi.

Somalia has been without a functioning government since 1991. The country's conflict has killed so many people and displaced over a million others.

By staff writer

© afrol News

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