Wednesday, April 04, 2007
Cairo, Egypt (AP) - Arab, African, European and US diplomats have held talks in the Egyptian capital in a bid to see how they can help Somalia's transitional government restore law and order in the Horn of Africa nation.
"The most important issue on the table is the security in the country," Somali Foreign Minister Ismael Hurreh said.
Amr Moussa, the league's secretary general, said the contact group would try to find ways to beef up the cease-fire reached in Mogadishu on Monday, speed up the deployment of more African Union peacekeepers and disarm militias.
He said the league was prepared to offer $1 million to help with the integration of militiamen into Somalia's armed forces.
Moussa also warned of a humanitarian crisis in Somalia, calling for emergency supplies to be sent there and for reconstruction work to start in the war-ravaged nation.
"Without political progress ... The crisis would enter vicious and violent circles, so it's becoming imminent to look into the host of challenges that we have to confront as an international community toward Somalia, and to work together to solve it," Moussa said.
Source: AP, April 04, 2007