United Nations Political Office for Somalia (UNPOS)
Ambassador Francois Fall appeals on behalf of the international community for peaceful dialogue
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Nairobi, 13 December – The Secretary-General’s Special Representative for Somalia, Francois Lonseny Fall, today appealed for calm in Somalia following a meeting of the international community at UNPOS to discuss Somalia’s current situation and the need to persuade the Transitional Federal Government (TFG) and the Union of Islamic Courts (UIC) to choose dialogue over conflict.Speaking later on behalf of the international community, Ambassador Fall said it was essential for the parties to settle their differences peacefully. “After 16 years of conflict it is time for both sides to
lower the temperature of their rhetoric and put the people first,” he said. “The military buildup and rising tensions inside Somalia threaten to make an alarming situation very much worse.”
Ambassador Fall said the TFG and the UIC made a good beginning when they met in Khartoum earlier this year. “A continuation of the Khartoum dialogue would give them a further opportunity to flesh out their
expectations and move towards a peaceful solution”, he said. “Somalia has seen the wages of war. It’s high time the people had an opportunity to enjoy the wages of peace.”
Ambassador Fall also appealed to the leaders of the TFG and UIC to facilitate assistance for several hundred thousand Somali civilians made homeless by the worst flooding in decades.
“The UN agencies working in Somalia estimate that almost 500,000 people have been flooded from their homes and there might be worse to come”, he said. “The rains are forecast to continue into next year. An international relief effort is underway, but humanitarian agencies need secure access for deliveries to those in need. Continued insecurity further complicates an already difficult task.”
Source: UNPOS, Dec 13, 2006