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UN touts Somali peace prospect despite fighting
By EDITH M. LEDERER Somalia has the best chance in two decades to restore peace and stability to its long-suffering people despite a recent upsurge in fighting, the U.N. political chief said Wednesday. B. Lynn Pascoe told the U.N. Security Council that the latest violence is a response to the new government's success in reaching out to opposition groups. This has threatened radicals in the opposition who have responded with force and attempted to overthrow the government, he said. Pascoe said the unsuccessful May 9 coup attempt was led by Sheik Hassan Dahir Aweys _ who is believed to have al-Qaida links _ and included fighters from al-Shabab, an insurgent group seeking to overthrow the Western-backed government and establish an Islamic state. It is worth noting that reports indicate there were increasing numbers of foreign fighters in the attacking force, he said. Pascoe said the international community must support Somalia's leaders who have shown a commitment to building peace by helping the government establish authority throughout the country and build security and legal institutions. The new broad-based, Western-backed government led by President Sheik Sharif Sheik Ahmed enjoys support from large segments of the Somali population and neighboring states and is reaching out to opposition groups, using negotiation, persuasion and inclusion, to achieve a lasting political settlement, he said. "As a result, the Somali people have the best chance in two decades to end their suffering and move towards a better and more stable future," Pascoe said. The international response to the government's pleas for help "could make the difference between hopeful steps to peace and a descent once again into anarchy and hopelessness," he said. Somalia has not had a functioning government since the ouster of a longtime dictator in 1991 and is riven by fighting among clan warlords and an Islamist insurgency that has killed thousands of civilians and sent hundreds of thousands fleeing for their lives. Nearly half its population of 7 million is dependent on aid, and piracy has become rampant. A weak U.N.-backed government called in Ethiopian troops in December 2006 to oust the umbrella Islamist group that controlled Mogadishu and southern Somalia for six months that year. The Ethiopian army was viewed by many Somalis as abusive and heavy-handed and it pulled out in January, just before Ahmed's government was elected by parliament. The Security Council endorsed efforts by Ahmed and his government to achieve peace and stability in the country and expressed "serious concern at continuing efforts by al-Shabab forces to destabilize the situation in Mogadishu and some other areas of the country." The council was meeting to discuss Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon's recommending that council members reject an immediate U.N. peacekeeping force for Somalia. Ban warned that deploying such a force now could exacerbate the country's long and bitter conflict. The U.N. chief called instead for the United Nations to continue strengthening the African Union force on the ground in Somalia's capital, Mogadishu, while helping the government on the political and security fronts. He said a U.N. peacekeeping operation "should remain the United Nations' goal," but achieving it will require significant progress in promoting political reconciliation and restoring peace. U.N. peacekeeping chief Alain Le Roy told the council Wednesday that this "incremental approach ... is the right strategy for Somalia at the present time." But he stressed it was "a flexible strategy" that could change in light of events on the ground. The council press statement said members "broadly agree with the strategy" presented in the secretary-general's report and support the African Union mission, which is receiving logistical support from the U.N. Source: AP Somaliweyn Media Center “SMC”
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