Thursday, November 03, 2011
"Blockades are generally difficult to enforce and may have unintended consequences in the midst of a humanitarian crisis," the State Department said in a statement.
"This proposal must be discussed with international partners, particularly the African Union and UN Security Council and carefully considered in the context of the overall strategy for restoring peace and stability in Somalia."
Kenya and Somalia made the proposal after Kenyan Prime Minister Raila Odinga and Abdiweli Mohamed Ali, the prime minister of Somalia's Western-backed Transitional Federal Government (TFG), met in Nairobi on Monday.
The two governments said the Shebab group of Somali rebels linked to Al-Qaeda was a common enemy, as Kenya pursued a two-week offensive against the rebels across the border inside southern Somalia.
"The Somalia government supports the activities of the Kenyan forces, which are being fully coordinated with the TFG of Somalia and being carried out in the spirit of good neighborliness and African unity," they said.
"This threat must be fought jointly by the two nations with support from the international community," they added, calling for international "logistical and financial support" to blockade Kismayo, a strategic rebel-held port.