'Beef up peacekeepers'

2009-07-01 08:33

Sirte - The African Union needs to double the size of its peacekeeping force in Somalia, where an Islamist insurgency threatens the internationally backed government, an east African bloc said on Tuesday.

Leaders of the Inter-Governmental Authority on Development (Igad), which includes Somalia and five of its neighbours, met on the eve of an AU summit in the Libyan town of Sirte.

 Igad again singled out Eritrea for posing "obstacles to peace and stability in Somalia through the provision of assistance to the extremists including foreign forces who continue to cause mayhem in Somalia".

Igad reiterated its call to the UN to impose sanctions on Eritrea, a position supported by the AU, while urging the AU to boost its 4 300-strong force in Somalia, already its largest peacekeeping operation.

Safe corridors

The AU has approved a force of 8 000, but has yet to deploy the full contingent. Igad insisted Somalia needed the full force, for which Nigeria, Sierra Leone and Malawi have promised troops.

If the region fails to muster enough soldiers, Igad proposed a "hybrid" force that would include troops from outside the region.

The existing force has only succeeded in keeping the insurgents out of the area around the presidential complex in the capital Mogadishu.

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

Igad called on "all international humanitarian organisations to urgently move in and provide humanitarian assistance to the suffering Somali people... and urges all the neighbouring countries to provide safe corridors for humanitarian deliveries".

The meeting included Somali President Sharif Sheikh Ahmed, Kenyan leader Mwai Kibaki, Sudan's Omar al-Beshir, Ethiopia's Meles Zenawi and foreign ministers from Djibouti and Uganda

- SAPA