Karen Calabria
Wednesday, November 15, 2006
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UN secretary general Kofi Anan during a conference at the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) in Nairobi. Annan has urged feuding Somali leaders to pursue talks aimed at averting an all-out war and warned regional states blamed for meddling in the shattered African nation to keep off.(AFP/Tony Karumba) |
Annan described the situation in war-torn Somalia as "serious" and said that an intervention by the international community depended on efforts made by the feeble government and the powerful Islamic movement toward achieving lasting stability.
"We have a very serious situation in Somalia," Annan told a press conference on the sidelines of the 12th UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) conference in the Kenyan capital Nairobi.
"I would appeal to the Somalis to try and put their differences together and continue the talks which began in Khartoum and honor their agreements," he said. "The talks which are now suspended should resume very quickly," added Annan, who is to retire from the helm of the world body in December after serving for 10 years.
The latest round of peace talks in the Sudanese capital Khartoum collapsed November 1 after the Islamists refused to meet the government for direct talks until Ethiopian troops they say are in the country withdraw.
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The failure of negotiations fueled fears of full-scale conflict that could engulf the entire Horn of Africa region, with rival forces girding for fresh clashes in southern Somalia and fighting in the country's central region. "I also urge the two groups, the transitional government and the Islamic courts, to avoid further confrontation and military action. The people of Somalia have suffered for a long time," added Annan.
"The international community will want to assist, but the Somalis have the primary responsibility and I hope they will really continue the talks," Annan said.
Both sides have violated accords reached in previous peace talks that called for cessation of hostilities, mutual recognition, and formation of a unified national force. They accuse each other of receiving external backing.
Ethiopia denies having thousands of soldiers in Somalia but acknowledges sending military advisors to help protect the government from the Islamists, some of whom are accused of links with Al Qaeda.
And Eritrea, which has also been accused of sending some 2,000 soldiers and weapons to back the Islamists, vehemently denies its troops are in Somalia and instead accused its archrival Ethiopia of meddling.
"I urge neighboring countries to avoid interfering in Somalia. It is already a difficult and volatile situation. We do not need to see it further complicated by neighboring countries rushing in with troops or guns to support one side," Annan said. "It will only compound the problem. I would urge them to stay out and urge the Somalis to continue their dialogue," he added.
Nations of the region are split over plans to deploy a peacekeeping mission to Somalia, ostensibly to protect President Abdullahi Yusuf Ahmed's government, which has been enfeebled by infighting.
In the seven-nation Inter-Governmental Authority on Development (IGAD), which is tasked with restoring peace, Djibouti and Eritrea vehemently opposed military intervention, warning that it would worsen the already bad situation.
Somalia has been without a functioning central authority since the 1991 ousting of strongman Mohamed Siad Barre and the two-year-old transitional government has been unable to assert control.
More than a dozen internationally backed initiatives have failed to restore peace in the lawless African nation, home to about 10 million people, which has suffered from several bouts of drought and famine.
Source: AFP, Nov 15, 2006