MedeshiFormer Somali president seeks asylum in Yemen
By AHMED AL-HAJ
By AHMED AL-HAJ
SANA, Yemen Somalia's former president, an ex-warlord who was forced from government, sought political asylum in Yemen, arriving Tuesday in a private jet from his impoverished homeland, an aide and a Yemeni security official said.
One of the former president's aides confirmed that Abdullahi Yusuf was offered a permanent home in Yemen, which lies across the Gulf of Aden from Somalia.
Yusuf's decision to seek asylum confirms his retirement from politics in the impoverished Horn of Africa nation, which has not had a functioning government since 1991.
The 75-year-old former warlord resigned in December following a series of public quarrels with his prime minister.
The aide said it was possible Yusuf could return to Somalia or move to a third country, such as the United Arab Emirates or Saudi Arabia.
Yemen and Somalia are two of the world's poorest countries, according to the U.N. Human Development Index.
Yusuf and his family arrived in Yemen aboard a private jet, said the Yemeni security official, adding that the former president will stay at a hotel for few days before moving to a house provided for him.
Both the official and the aide asked for anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to the media.
Two years ago, Ethiopian troops intervened on Yusuf's behalf to drive an Islamic administration out of the Somali capital and much of the country's south. But after Yusuf's government was unable to deliver security or social services, the Islamist insurgency began to regain ground until it controlled all of central and southern Somalia.
The Somali government's presence is now limited to pockets of the capital, Mogadishu, and the parliamentary seat of Baidoa.
The Islamists have splintered into several factions and some have begun fighting each other, raising fears that Somalia may sink deeper into chaos.
One of the former president's aides confirmed that Abdullahi Yusuf was offered a permanent home in Yemen, which lies across the Gulf of Aden from Somalia.
Yusuf's decision to seek asylum confirms his retirement from politics in the impoverished Horn of Africa nation, which has not had a functioning government since 1991.
The 75-year-old former warlord resigned in December following a series of public quarrels with his prime minister.
The aide said it was possible Yusuf could return to Somalia or move to a third country, such as the United Arab Emirates or Saudi Arabia.
Yemen and Somalia are two of the world's poorest countries, according to the U.N. Human Development Index.
Yusuf and his family arrived in Yemen aboard a private jet, said the Yemeni security official, adding that the former president will stay at a hotel for few days before moving to a house provided for him.
Both the official and the aide asked for anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to the media.
Two years ago, Ethiopian troops intervened on Yusuf's behalf to drive an Islamic administration out of the Somali capital and much of the country's south. But after Yusuf's government was unable to deliver security or social services, the Islamist insurgency began to regain ground until it controlled all of central and southern Somalia.
The Somali government's presence is now limited to pockets of the capital, Mogadishu, and the parliamentary seat of Baidoa.
The Islamists have splintered into several factions and some have begun fighting each other, raising fears that Somalia may sink deeper into chaos.
