AU Welcomes Deal in Somalia

(PANA)--The African Union (AU) will work closely with the United Nations to ensure the early deployment of a UN peacekeeping operation in Somalia, AU Commission Chairperson Jean Ping has said.

Welcoming the signing of the agreement between Somalia’s Transitional Federal Government (TFG) and the opposition Alliance for the Re-Liberation of Somalia (ARS) on 19 August 2008 in Djibouti, Ping added that the AU would make sure all the necessary arrangements were put in place for the effective implementation of the deal. ‘The signing of this agreement marks a very significant step in the efforts being made towards the promotion of lasting peace and reconciliation in Somalia’, said Ping.

In a communiqué issued here late Wednesday, the Chairperson warmly commended the Somali parties for the commitment and the spirit of compromise they have displayed. He reiterated the AU’s determination to support and accompany the TFG, the ARS and the other Somali stakeholders as they strive to bring to an end the violence that has plagued Somalia for so many years and the untold suffering inflicted on its people.

Meanwhile, Ping has called on the international community to provide the necessary support to sustain the current political momentum in Somalia as well as the long-term stabilisation and reconstruction of that country. Among the challenges facing the TFG, led by President Abdullahi Yusuf and Prime Minister Nur Hassan, is the coordination of their efforts to move Somalia’s peace process forward. Diplomatic sources here indicate that after the initialling of the latest pact and the conclusion of the first meetings of the High Level Committee and the Joint Security Committee, also in Djibouti, Somalia’s parliament and the TFG would make headway on the peace process.

The two committees were set up under the Djibouti Agreement signed on 9 June 2008 following consultations that were mediated by the Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General, Ould-Abdallah. Within the UN, three options have been under discussion with the aim of fixing the situation in Somalia. One is for establishment of a separate multi-national stabilisation force to which different countries might be prepared to contribute troops. The other two options are for a UN peacekeeping operation, or the strengthening of the AU Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) and turning it into a UN peacekeeping operation.

AMISOM has been on the ground since March 2007. If the first option were adopted, some members of the UN Security Council would prefer that it should divide its activities between dealing with piracy and establishing security in and around Mogadishu.

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