Tuesday October 30, 2018
MOGADISHU (Xinhua) -- The United Nations senior envoy in Somalia has called on Somalis to pursue homegrown solutions to their problems amid tensions between the federal and regional state governments.
Nicholas Haysom, Secretary-General's Special Representative to Somalia, who made his first regional visit in Kismayo on Monday called for unity and cooperation among Somalis to address challenges bedeviling the Horn of Africa nation.
He encouraged all Somali leaders to work together and resolve differences between the government and member states.
"We are convinced that Somalia needs all of its people to work together and to find a solution as to how to work together," Haysom said in a statement issued on Monday night after the visit.
The UN envoy visited Kismayo, the capital city of Jubaland in southern Somalia with Francisco Madeira, Special Representative of the Chairperson of the African Union Commission for Somalia.
The visit came as the dispute between federal government and its state members has escalated in the recent past after regional State leaders suspended all relations with Mogadishu.
"I'm aware that Somalia is not Mogadishu, Mogadishu is not Somalia - it's necessary for me to visit the regions to see my own staff, but also to see how people live across the breadth and length of Somalia," Haysom said.
Leaders of five Somali regional states on Sept. 8 resolved to suspend relations with the central government due to lack of political and security progress in the Horn of Africa nation.
The leaders from Jubaland, Puntland, Southwest, Galmudug and Hirshabelle regions accuse the government of interfering with regional issues, failure to implement security architecture and not fulfilling political agreements.
During the visit, the two UN envoys held talks with Jubbaland leader Ahmed Madobe on wide range issues including the security, progress, and concerns of the state.
Madobe said they had a long discussion about wide ranging issues in Somalia touching on the conflict between the Federal Government of Somalia and Federal State Members.
"We shared with him our view on how the conflict can be resolved. We also stated that Somalia needs true and durable solutions to the problems facing it," he said in the statement.