Uncertainty about UN force for Somalia

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(Agencies)
Updated: 2009-03-12 16:18

UNITED NATIONS -- Somalia's volatile political climate has fueled "uncertainties" about whether a UN peacekeeping force is the right tool to support the new government's efforts to establish itself and promote national reconciliation, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said Wednesday.

In this image relased by the US Navy, suspected pirates keep their hands in the air as directed by a patrol from the guided-missile cruiser USS Vella Gulf in the Gulf of Aden, in February 2009. [Agencies]

Ban said in his quarterly report to the UN Security Council that he would provide further advice and recommendations on the deployment of a peacekeeping operation by April 15.

The Security Council adopted a resolution in December expressing its intention to establish a UN peacekeeping mission in Somalia, but putting off a decision for several months in order to assess the volatile situation in the Horn of Africa nation. The council said the decision should be made by June 1.

Somalia has been beset by 18 years of anarchy, violence and an Islamic insurgency that has killed thousands of civilians and sent hundreds of thousands fleeing for their lives. The African Union, which has about 3,500 troops protecting vital installations in the capital, Mogadishu, has been pressing for months for the UN to take over peacekeeping -- and so was the former US administration of President George W. Bush, but President Barack Obama is reported to be less enthusiastic.

"I note that the council has not yet made a decision to deploy a peacekeeping operation, and that there remains uncertainty about whether peacekeeping is the right tool to support the political process in Somalia," the secretary-general said.

Ban said he was encouraged by the expansion of Somalia's parliament and its election of Sheik Ahmed Sheik Sharif as the country's leader after the former president resigned, and by "the determination of the people and leaders of Somalia to carry on with the reconciliation process."

At the same time, he said "the security situation in Somalia remained volatile" with widespread fighting in Mogadishu following the withdrawal of Ethiopian forces in January, and insurgent fighters gaining control over additional towns and territory although they are increasingly facing armed resistance from clans and other local militias.

In 2008, Ban said 34 aid workers were killed in Somalia, 26 were abducted, and 13 were still in captivity at the end of January.

The secretary-general said a technical mission he sent to the region to look into the possibility of a UN peacekeeping operation reported that basic conditions need to be in place for a mission to be effective.

He said "important benchmarks" include the formation of a government of national unity, a credible cease-fire, and consent to the UN deployment by all major parties. None of the benchmarks has so far been met.

Ban also outlined plans to provide additional UN logistical support to the African Union force so it can beef up its troop strength to the 8,000 originally authorized.

He also said the UN peacekeeping department estimates that 22,500 troops and over 2,600 police would be needed for a UN peacekeeping mission.