Friday, December 01, 2006
UNITED NATIONS -- The United States circulated a UN Security Council draft resolution Friday that would authorize a regional force to protect Somalia's weak government and threaten Security Council action against those who block peace efforts and attempt to overthrow it.
It would ban Somalia's neighbors from sending soldiers -- a demand by a seven-nation East African group expected to contribute soldiers to the force, as well as European members of the Security Council who want to ensure the force's aim is to promote peace.
U.S. Ambassador John Bolton said he expects Security Council experts to discuss the draft on Monday "and then we'll proceed as rapidly as we can after that."
The move comes after a veiled woman and two other suicide bombers exploded cars Thursday outside the western Somali town of Baidoa, the only area under the government's control. Ten people were killed in the attack.
No one claimed responsibility for the attack but the government blamed the Islamic movement vying for control of the country. The Islamic group denied any involvement.
Police questioned six suspects Friday, but declined to provide details about them.
Somalia has not had an effective government since 1991, when warlords overthrew dictator Mohamed Siad Barre and then turned on one another. A government was formed with the help of the UN two years ago, but has struggled to assert its authority. Islamic militants, meanwhile, have been rising up since June and now control the capital and most of the country's south.
A confidential UN report obtained recently by the AP said 6,000 to 8,000 Ethiopian troops were in Somalia or along the border, supporting the transitional government. It also said 2,000 soldiers from Eritrea were inside Somalia, supporting the Islamic militia.
There are fears that Somalia could become a proxy battleground for Ethiopia and Eritrea, which fought a border war in 1998-2000. Eritrea denies having any troops in Somalia, while Ethiopia insists it has sent only a few hundred advisers.
There was no mention of troops already in Somalia in the U.S. draft resolution.
The draft resolution emphasizes the council's "willingness to engage with all parties in Somalia, including the Islamic courts movement, if they are committed to achieving a political settlement through peaceful and inclusive dialogue."
The regional force would protect the U.N.-backed transitional government and train some of the local forces. Council diplomats said the seven-nation East African group envisions a force of eight battalions, each with 700 to 800 troops, but only two would be deployed in the first phase.
"It's very limited," said Britain's U.N. Ambassador Emyr Jones Parry. "The situation in Somalia ... remains very difficult and complex, and there isn't a simple solution, and there certainly isn't a massive imposed military solution from outside."
Bolton said Somalia's stability is in "grave peril" because of the pressure being placed on the government by the Islamic movement.
"What we want to do is introduce this regional peacekeeping force ... in order to provide some measure of stability there to permit a political solution," he said.
The goal is to eventually persuade the Islamists that a military victory is impossible, thus creating conditions for a negotiated settlement between the two sides, council diplomats said, speaking on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly.
In the draft, the council said it would consider taking measures "against those that seek to prevent or block a peaceful dialogue process, overthrow the transitional federal institutions by force, or take action that further threatens regional stability."
The U.S. did not specify what measures might be considered but the resolution was drafted under Chapter 7 of the UN Charter, which deals with threats to international peace and security and authorizes a range of measures from breaking diplomatic and trade relations to military intervention.
Bolton circulated the resolution two days after the Security Council adopted a resolution asking Secretary-General Kofi Annan to re-establish a monitoring group to investigate violations of the arms embargo for a six-month period.
A report earlier this month by the last monitoring group accused 10 countries of providing weapons, money and training to rival sides in Somalia. Many of those named denied any involvement and complained about being on the list.
Source: AP, Dec 1, 2006