AU urges support for Somali govt
2006-06-16 10:01
Addis Ababa - The African Union appealed on Thursday for international support for Somalia's provisional government as new violence wracked the anarchic Horn of Africa nation.
"There is an urgent need to give support to the transitional federal government to help bring back stability," Mohamed Ali Foum, the AU's special representative for Somalia, told journalists at the body's headquarters.
The transitional government set up in 2004 has been powerless to bring peace to Somalia, where Islamic militia have seized control of the capital Mogadishu after defeating an alliance of warlords.
The AU's Peace and Security Council said it "appealed to the international community to extend all the necessary assistance to the transitional federal institutions to enable them to fully assume their responsibilities, with a view to restoring peace, reconciliation and stability in Somalia."
The council, in a statement issued after a meeting focussing on Somalia, also appealed for humanitarian assistance to the Somali people.
"The Council appealed to all concerned within Somalia to refrain from any action likely to aggravate the situation, to seek the path of dialogue and to extend the necessary cooperation to the transitional federal government," it added.
"There is a government and it has been recognised by the international community... it is for the international community to support the government they've helped to build up themselves," Somali ambassador to Ethiopia, Abdikarin Farah, said.
Otherwise, "this will have an implication for the region, insecurity might go beyond Somalia and reach other neighbouring countries," he warned.
The African Union also called for swift authorisation for the deployment of a regional peacekeeping force to Somalia, which was mooted in January 2005 but has not yet been formed.
The transitional Somali parliament on Wednesday gave its support to the despatch of the force.