UN chief Ban Ki-moon sharply condemned attacks by hardline Islamists aimed at ousting Somalia’s "legitimate government."
Thursday, May 28, 2009
It added that the "campaign of violence is aimed at the forceful overthrow of a legitimate government which has reached out to its opponents in a spirit of reconciliation, through an ’open door’ policy and negotiations."
Ban said he was also "deeply concerned about the growing numbers of civilians killed, wounded and displaced as a result of these attacks."
The statement said that "in the face of this ongoing threat to the peace process, Somalia’s government is appealing for international assistance, and the Secretary-General wishes to strongly and urgently echo that appeal."
The UN boss urged the international community to follow through quickly with the urgently needed financial and other forms of support recently pledged in Brussels to both Somalia’s transitional government and the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM).
And he called for direct bilateral assistance to the Somali government.
On Wednesday, Somalia’s President Sharif Sheikh Ahmed accused Eritrea of arming hardline Islamists fighting to oust his government, a day after his own palace came under a barrage of mortar shells.
It was the first time he directly blamed the small African nation since the eruption early this month of some of the heaviest fighting against his four-month-old government.
According to Sharif, Asmara’s intention in backing the radical Islamists was to create a base to train units to wage guerrilla war against its arch-foe Ethiopia.
Islamist fighters opposed to Sharif launched the latest onslaught on May 7, vowing to topple his Western-backed government.
More than 200 people have been killed and some 62,000 Mogadishu residents have fled the clashes in the past 20 days. Sharif has been holed up in his presidential compound under the protection of AU peacekeepers.
Source: AFP, May 28, 2009