UN calls for intervention in Somalia

"Without an immediate intervention on the part of the international community, Somalia risks a humanitarian catastrophe" says UN special envoy Ahmedou Ould-Abdallah.

More than 720,000 people have been forced to leave Mogadishu over the past few months because of Ethiopian soldiers and transition government troops fighting militia groups linked with the Islamic Courts.The international community is still trying to find a solution for the dramatic crisis in Somlia.

While Uganda, which supplies most of the troops of the African Union mission in Somalia, has announced the deployment of 1,500 soldiers trained by French experts, to replace those already in the country, UN special envoy, Ahmedou Ould-Abdallah asked Saudi Arabia to use its "moral authority" to convince the Somali parties to sit down at the negotiation table.

Ould-Abdallah said the 'wait and see' attitude of the international community threatens to worsen the situation and to bring the country to a humanitarian crisis. "Saudi Arabia is the custodian of the most important Muslim holy places and it is a neighbour which accepts many Somali refugees. It has moral authority" said the UN special envoy, who stressed the need to increase the African Union contingent with a contribution from other countries in Africa, the Middle East, south east Asia and one or two of the NATO member nations.At the political level the new Prime Minister Nur Hassan Hussein announced the imminent formation of a 'technical' government of 18 ministers, half of them non members of parliament.

On 16 December the executive was dismissed by the Premier only two weeks after the resignation of five ministers because of a power-sharing dispute. Hussein said he intends to start dialogue with the opposition.

The political picture of Somalia is also fragmented by tensions between semi-autonomous region of Puntland and that of Somaliland, self proclaimed independence, not officially recognised by any country as yet. These regions dispute control of the Sool border area (see Fides 29/10/2007), whose capital Las Anod was occupied by Somaliland troops in October. The President of Puntland, general Mohamud Adde Muse, admitted to the local parliament that he had started secret negotiations with the Somaliland authorities to solve the question of Las Anod, giving rise to strong protests from the MPs who accused him of being a "traitor".

The abduction of a French journalist in Bosaso, 'economic capital' of Puntland would not appear to be connected with these tensions. The local authorities said they are trying to negotiate his release.