Thursday, March 10, 2011
Somalia's Prime Minister Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed appeared before the UN Security Council in New York to update developments and progress being made by his transitional government in Mogadishu.
Somalia is scheduled to hold legislative elections in July, elect a new president in August before the Transitional Federal Government is to end its mandate on August 20.
A UN mission composed some 8,000 troops and civilian personnel, mostly from Uganda and Burundi, is currently assisting Mogadishu. But the council had authorized an additional 4,000 troops to bolster the mission's capability in dealing with security.
Mohammed said the new troops would 'reinforce the efforts to bring peace and stability.'
'We are in the first line of defence against two evils: the scourge of piracy and the plague of terrorism,' Mohamed said. 'We need to defeat them at the source and we need the cooperation and collaboration of the international community.'
Mohamed said a new government at the end of summer should be given ample time to fulfil the remaining transitional tasks, including the ratification of the constitution.
Source: DPA