Resolve Somalia unrest - Ping

2009-07-01 10:10

Sirte - African nations need to devote more attention to ending the unrest in Somalia, which has been "abandoned" to its fate for too long, the head of the AU Commission Jean Ping said in an interview.

The African Union's largest peacekeeping mission is in Somalia, with a force of 4 300 that now mainly protect the internationally backed President Sharif Sheikh Ahmed from an Islamist insurgent offensive that began on May 7.

A force of up to 8 000 peacekeepers has been authorised, and Ping said the AU summit that opens on Wednesday needs to decide on how to proceed in Somalia, which has been without a central government for 18 years.

"The most acute crisis facing us today is Somalia," Ping said ahead of the African Union summit in the coastal Libyan town of Sirte.

Problem of terrorism

"Firstly, there are violent clashes and arms in circulation, raising the risk of more significant confrontations and the problem of terrorism.

"There is also the maritime piracy that is a consequence of all the other problems," he said.

"It appears everyone has abandoned Somalia," he added.

Somalia has had no effective central authority since the 1991 ouster of president Mohamed Siad Barre touched off a bloody power struggle that has defied around a dozen different peace initiatives.

Since the latest violence erupted nearly two months ago, the United Nations estimates 250 civilians have been killed while more than 160 000 have fled their homes.

Last week, a US official said the United States was giving Somalia's embattled government urgent supplies of weapons and ammunition to fight off the insurgents, while Somalia's speaker has made an urgent appeal for foreign military intervention.

Concrete decisions

"We are the only ones capable of intervening," Ping said of the AU peacekeepers.

"But we have a contingent of 4 000 soldiers, when an estimated 8 000 are needed. This summit needs to produce concrete decisions," he said.

"Burundi and Uganda are already there. We have promises of troops from Nigeria, Sierra Leone, and Malawi.

"We have so far avoided having neighbouring countries intervene in the conflict, for fear of regionalising it," Ping added.

Neighbouring Ethiopia, a key US ally in the region, invaded Somalia in 2006 to remove an Islamist rebellion that had taken control of large swathes of the country.

After failing to stabilise the country, Ethiopia pulled out earlier this year but warned it could return at any time should hardliners threaten to take control.

Aiding the insurgents

A six-nation bloc that includes Somalia, Ethiopia and four other neighbours on Tuesday urged the African Union to deploy the full force of 8 000 peacekeepers that has already been approved.

The Inter-Governmental Authority on Development (Igad) also blamed foreign fighters for fuelling the conflict, while reiterating an early call for the United Nations to impose sanctions on Eritrea, which is accused of fanning the flames.

The African Union has already backed the call for UN sanctions on Eritrea, but Ping again highlighted the role of foreign elements in the unrest.

"Within Somalia itself, there are some elements foreign to the continent that are aiding the insurgents," Ping said.

"The crisis in Somalia concerns the nations across the sub-region."

- AFP