18/01/09 (B482) Shabelle / Suppression de plusieurs points de contrôle dans Mogadiscio. // Government checkpoints removed in Mogadishu (En Anglais)

Two checkpoints manned by Somali government soldiers have been removed in Ex-control area in south Mogadishu, officials said on Saturday.

The commander of the Somali police forces, Gen. Abdi Hassan Awale (Qeibdid) and Mogadishu mayor, Mohamed Osman Ali ( Dhagahtur) announced they have removed the checkpoints.

“After we have been informed the harassment of the government soldiers to the civilians, we have decided to remove them,” said Gen. Awale.

The Somali government soldiers in the checkpoints used to extort money from the passenger buses that travel on the long, tarmac road which connects Mogadishu and the southern regions of the country.

Gen. Abdi Hassan Awale said they intend to reopen schools that were closed clashes in the Somali capital Mogadishu.

The Ethiopian troops supporting the weak transitional government evacuated from the Somali capital Mogadishu, but now they have pulled back to Baidoa, the seat of the transitional parliament.

It is the first step the government takes since the Ethiopian troops withdrew from Mogadishu.

The displaced people in the outskirts of the city started to relocate to their homes and rebuild them after two years.