Ban hails government’s success in rebuffing threats
UN chief rallies support for Somali fightback
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Somalia’s transitional government successfully rebuffed threats from extremist forces to overthrow it, the UN chief said.
But Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said the government still faced many challenges, first and foremost dealing with widespread insecurity and a recent upsurge in attacks, assassinations and abductions.
He said the increased violence has led to a worsening humanitarian crisis in Somalia that had made the delivery of aid “extremely dangerous” at a time when fighting and drought were increasing the need for life-saving assistance.
In a report to the Security Council, the UN chief urged the government “to stay the course” – and he appealed to the international community “to redouble its support and rally support behind the government”.
Mr Ban said the United Nations stood solidly behind the African Union and its 5,200-strong force in the capital, Mogadishu, which lost 17 soldiers when two vehicles exploded in an area controlled by the AU on September 17.
Somalia has not had an effective government since 1991, when warlords overthrew longtime dictator Mohamed Siad Barre and then turned on each other, plunging the country into chaos and anarchy.
The fragile UN-backed government and an undermanned, poorly resourced African Union peacekeeping force have struggled to defend government buildings, the port and airport in Mogadishu.
Two allied Islamist insurgent groups – al Shabab and the Islamic Party – launched an offensive after the return of an exiled insurgent leader in April that killed hundreds of Somalis and forced tens of thousands to flee their homes.
Mr Ban said the transitional government, in recent months, “has successfully weathered threats to its existence from extremist forces”.
The secretary-general warned that further progress to promote the peace process required greater efforts to consolidate the government’s authority and deliver services to the impoverished population.
Five Somali pirates were captured after attacking a French warship they mistook for a freighter yesterday.
No one was hit by the volleys from the Kalashnikov rifles directed at La Somme, an 18,000-tonne command and supply vessel.
France is a member of the European Union’s naval mission, Operation Atalanta, fighting Somali pirates in the Gulf of Aden.
It has handed over at least 22 suspects to Kenya. Another 15 have been taken to France for prosecution.
