From: Yemane Natnael (yemane_natnael@yahoo.com)
Date: Wed Aug 20 2008 - 12:28:16 EDT
UN approves Somalia force for six more months
Wed 20 Aug 2008
By Daniel Bases
UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - The U.N. Security Council authorized on
Tuesday an African Union force in Somalia for another six months, a day
after Somalia's government signed a peace agreement with some
opposition figures.
A unanimous resolution also asked U.N. Secretary-General Ban
Ki-moon to work with the AU to strengthen U.N. logistical, political
and technical support to help bring the African Union Mission in
Somalia, or AMISOM, up to U.N. standards.
Somalia has been mired in anarchy since warlords overthrew a
dictator in 1991. The waters off the Horn of Africa country are
considered among the most dangerous in the world for shipping because
of rife piracy.
The peace agreement, which was initialed on June 9 in Djibouti and
signed on Monday, has been rejected by hard-liners and done little to
quell violence.
More than 8,000 civilians have been killed and 1 million uprooted
in fighting since early last year pitting President Abdullahi Yusuf's
interim administration and allied Ethiopian forces against Islamist
rebels.
Last month the AU said it was incapable of stabilizing the
situation in Somalia and urged the United Nations to take over
peacekeeping operations. The world body has been cautious of stepping
in in before some kind of peace is established.
AMISOM has authorized the deployment of 8,000 troops but has only 2,600 on the ground.
Nigeria said last week it would deploy a battalion of 850 officers
and soldiers to Somalia in the next few weeks to join existing AMISOM
forces. AMISOM is made up of soldiers from Uganda and Burundi.
AMISOM was meant to replace Ethiopian troops whose presence
inflamed the insurgency because they helped Somalia's government
dislodge an Islamist movement at the start of 2007.
A shortage of funds and the violence raging in the capital
Mogadishu have prompted several nations to reconsider their offers of
troops.
The Security Council's resolution stated a willingness to consider
at an appropriate time "a peacekeeping operation to take over from
AMISOM, subject to progress in the political process and improvement in
the security situation on the ground."
http://africa.reuters.com/top/news/usnBAN025959.html
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