Ban opposes UN peacekeepers in Somalia

FE Team | Published: November 11, 2007 00:00:00 | Updated: February 01, 2018 00:00:00

UNITED NATIONS, Nov 10 (Agencies): Against a backdrop of heavy fighting and growing insecurity, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon opposed the deployment of UN peacekeepers to Somalia and suggested instead a robust multinational force or a coalition of willing nationsn August, the UN Security Council called on the secretary-general to begin planning for the possible deployment of UN peacekeepers to replace an African Union force that has struggled to put troops in the chaotic country.
But in a new report to the council, Ban on Friday said, "under the prevailing political and security situation, I believe that the deployment of a United Nations peacekeeping operation cannot be considered a realistic and viable option."
Ban said a that "given the complex security situation in Somalia, it may be advisable to look at additional security options, including the deployment of a obust multinational force or coalition of the willing."
Such a force could initially be small and self-sustaining, Ban said, growing over time with the achievement of specific security and political milestones. "In due time, such a force could be built to a level that would enable Ethiopian forces to commence a partial, then complete withdrawal from the country."
Somalia has not had a functioning government since clan-based warlords toppled dictator Mohamed Siad Barre in 1991 and then turned on each other, sinking the poverty-stricken Horn of Africa nation of 7 million people into chaos.
The rout last December of the Islamic fundamentalist movement that controlled most of Somalia by Ethiopian troops and Somali government soldiers allowed the country's weak UN-backed transitional government to enter the capital, Mogadishu, for the first time since it was established in 2004. But heavy fighting between insurgents and Ethiopian troops has flared again, leaving hundreds dead and wounded.
The UN authorized the African Union to send an 8,000-strong peacekeeping force to Somalia in February to calm the country, but only 1,800 troops from Uganda are on the ground. Ban urged the international community to provide logistical help and funds to deploy the rest of the AU force as quickly as possible.
The AU has been pressing for a UN force to replace the AU troops when its current UN mandate expires in February. But some key Security Council countries insist there must be a peace to keep before UN troops are sent to Somalia.
Ban said the United Nations is trying to encourage a dialogue within the transitional government and with opposition groups to try to end the fighting and establish broad-based transitional institutions.
But in his report covering the period since late June, Ban painted a grim picture of a country facing increasing violence and insecurity and a growing humanitarian crisis.
The political situation, he said, was marked by the deepening of divisions within the shaky transitional government, "the hardening stance of the opposition and the intensification of the insurgency."
"The situation in Mogadishu remains volatile, with daily attacks mostly by insurgents" targeting government and Ethiopian troops, Ban said. "Elsewhere, lawlessness and inter-clan violence continued in large areas of central and southern Somalia."