Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, warning that Somalia could slide back into being a failed state, called Tuesday on countries around the world to provide the African Union-led peacekeeping force there with attack helicopters and armored troop carriers to take the fight to Al-Shabab militants in the field.
The U.N. chief called on U.N. members, including African countries not yet involved, to provide the African Union-led peacekeeping force with attack helicopters, armored troop carries and other support to root out the al-Qaida-allied Al-Shabab.
“The political, security and development gains made so far in Somalia are still reversible,” Ban said in a report to the Security Council. The al-Qaida-allied terrorist group Al-Shabab “continues to undermine security throughout the country, including in Mogadishu.”
“Allowing Al-Shabab to continue its training and conduct terrorist activities from bases in Somalia will not only undermine peace in Somalia, but also that of the wider region,” he said.
The AU peacekeeping mission in Somalia — known as AMISOM — is endorsed by the U.N. Security Council and is meant to pave the way for an eventual U.N. peacekeeping force. It is led by Ugandan officers, and also has large Kenya and Burundi contingents. It has more than 17,000 troops.
The United Nations has especially been stung since Al-Shabab attacked the U.N. compound in Mogadishu on June 19, killing a U.N. Development Program staffer, thee U.N. contractors, four Somali guards and at least six Somali bystanders. It was the first direct attack on a U.N. building in Somalia since 2008.
Since then, the international aid group Doctors Without Borders has pulled out of Somalia, citing increasing dangers there.
Somalia has long been plagued by cyclical drought and famine and decades of armed conflict. But in recent years it has been seen as making strides in security and governance, particularly since August 2011, when al-Qaida-aligned militants were forced out of Mogadishu.
Al-Shabab militants still control much of the country’s south.
Source: AP
In plain English We need more funding to play with.
The Federal Government of Southern Somalia is doomed to fail because the Parliament and the executive branch of the present administration is not inclusive and the largest clan of Southern Somalia dominated the so called Federal Government. The Hawiye clan do not have the appetite to include any one who is not from their tribe.
Ibrahim Jibah
Who cares let them abuse each, That's the way their gene works. Regarding the United nations let them keep on dreaming, a pig is born a pig no one can change a pig to a high breed horse. wishes ain't gonna work in Zoomalia it's time for the united to pull out if at they their sixth sense can kick in to work for once.
What is all this fuss about? Aint the FGS the sole central powers? The FGS should be
able to show their strong muscles to tame these renegade Kismaayo-Jubbaland-Puntland.
The FGS losing the battle against these two defiant daredevils would cause the collapse
of the FGS and Mogadiscio would never ever regain as the Capital of Somalia proper.
Cheers.
we need to bomb burco to the ground cuz that's where Al shabaab are hiding.
@PIS,
Alshabab has no place in Burao-Togdheer,Sanaag and Sool. Hartilanders are pro Somaliweyn
and have no interest with renegade semi-enclave MJ'enia Puntland or Alshabab. I think that the wise
Hartilanders have already come to the realization that their Somaliland Sovereign State is
always by nature closer to bringing all 5star AL-Somaal into possibility in any given future…
None else my friend…that option is quite possible through the good working bilateral
unshakeable relationships between Somaliland and Ethiopia powers. If God forbid the Ethiopian
fails to understand the stakes for both ends, that might have other side effects to which Somaliland
would still have other unforeseen options. Alshabab would never ever succeed in Somaliland..
guaranteed.
Cheers.
Cheers.
The defeat of Al Shabab has an enormous effect in the settlement of the problem of the somali people. They are presently the only major destablizing factor in reaching a peaceful agreeement between the Somali tribes in the South. If this group is eliminated from the political scene of Somalia, the Somali people will revert to their old cultural problem-solving system where the different tribes are convinced to reach a lasting peace. The Shabab are alien and their concept of life and governance has nothing to do with the somali culture.