KL to withdraw its troops

KL to withdraw its troops

KUALA LUMPUR (AFP): Malaysia will withdraw its peacekeepers from Somalia at the end of the United Nations mandate in March, Defense Minister Najib Razak said yesterday.

"We tried our best to be helpful in Somalia. Unfortunately, interclan rivalry seems to be going on unabated and attempts toward a political settlement don't look optimistic. We are at the end of our endurance," Najib told reporters.

Malaysia has had 1,100 troops deployed as UN peacekeepers in Somalia since June 1993. Five have been killed in action so far.

The African nation has been locked in a bitter civil war between Mohamed Farah Aideed of the Haber Gedir clan and Ali Mahdi Hawaye of the Abgal clan since US-backed leader Mohamad Said Barre was ousted in February 1991.

The minister said morale was low among troops.

"Our soldiers are living in an open prison. They have no life outside and no interaction with the population. We don't know who we can trust," said Najib.