Upsurge In Somali Fighting Prompts Concern From Security Council And Annan
The Security Council and Secretary-General Kofi Annan today each voiced grave concern at the recent intensified fighting
in Somalia between the strife-torn country’s Transitional Federal Institutions (TFIs) and the Union of Islamic Courts
(UIC).
Media reports say that hundreds of people may have been killed this week during clashes between the two groups wresting
for control of a State that has not had a functioning national government since 1991.
In a <"http://www.un.org/News/Press/docs//2006/sgsm10815.doc.htm">statement released by his spokesman, Mr. Annan warned
that the latest outbreak of fighting “will have disastrous consequences for civilians, who are already suffering from
the effects of years and instability and deprivation, compounded by the severe flooding that has recently affected parts
of the country.”
The Secretary-General urged both the UIC, which controls the nominal capital, Mogadishu, and the TFIs, based in the
provincial city of Baidoa, to cease hostilities immediately and resume peace talks in the Sudanese capital, Khartoum.
The third round of peace talks, to focus on security and power-sharing, were slated to begin in October but then
postponed after both sides came with preconditions. They were then scheduled to resume this month.
Today’s statement added that Mr. Annan was particularly concerned about “continuous reports of the involvement of
foreign forces in the current conflict,” and he called on all nations to respect Somalia’s sovereignty and territorial
integrity.
In a <"http://www.un.org/News/Press/docs//2006/sc8927.doc.htm">presidential statement issued today, the Council also voiced
its concern about the situation, and urged both the UIC and the TFIs to “refrain from any actions that could provoke or
perpetuate violence and violations of human rights, contribute to unnecessary tension and mistrust, endanger the
ceasefire and political process, or further damage the humanitarian situation.”
The 15-member body stressed that the Transitional Federal Charter offers “the only route to achieving peace and
stability in Somalia,” an impoverished nation in the Horn of Africa region. The charter emphasizes the need for
institutions to be broad-based and widely representative and for any political process to be inclusive.
ends