Ethiopian News Agency
Thursday, April 05, 2007
Addis Ababa, Ethiopia (ENA) - The United States Tuesday urged greater international support for the African Union peace-keeping in Somalia. The State Department appeal came as senior U.S., European and African diplomats met in Cairo to discuss the current situation in the Somali capital, Mogadishu, VOA reported.
The U.N. Security Council last year authorized the establishment of an 8,000 member Somalia protection force by the African Union and the East African regional grouping IGAD, it said.
But the force remains undersubscribed, leaving the Ethiopians, who had hoped to remain in the country only a matter of weeks, bearing the main peace-keeping burden.
The peace-keeping issue is a major focus of the meeting that convened in Cairo Tuesday of the international Somalia contact group, including the United States and key African and European Union countries.
At a news briefing, State Department Spokesman Sean McCormack said reconciliation across the political spectrum in Somalia is a prerequisite for any hope of the country emerging from what he termed the morass of violence that has afflicted it for years.
But he also said the United States is encouraging all possible support for the African Union so that its Somalia mission, now consisting only of about 1,300 Ugandan troops, can be expanded to the
He said a premature departure of Ethiopian troops could lead to chaos, and said the international community must not abandon the Transitional Somali Government that took over Mogadishu after the Ethiopians routed the extremist movement in December last year.
The U.S. delegation to the Cairo meeting is led by Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs Jendayi Frazer, the report said.
The Somalia Contact Group is expected to endorse a reconciliation conference planned for Mogadishu April 16, 2007.
Source: ENA, April 05, 2007