Diplomats to ‘move very fast’ in Mogadishu

Tuesday, June 20, 2006
Associated Press

Addis Ababa – African and Western diplomats agreed to send experts to study conditions in Somalia before deploying a peacekeeping mission there, African Union (AU) officials said on Monday.

The meeting reviewed the situation in Somalia after militia fighters loyal to an Islamic group, the Islamic Courts Union, seized control of the Somali capital, Mogadishu, as the country’s weak transitional government watched helplessly from the sidelines.

“We have reached consensus that we have to move very fast,” EU ambassador Timothy Clark said after the meeting, adding that a response could include sending a substantial force that has the mandate to restore peace and stability in Somalia. It was not decided when peacekeepers would be deployed.

Somalia’s weak transitional government hopes to assert its authority through negotiations with the Islamic group, but a vote by its parliament last week endorsing foreign peacekeepers angered the Islamic leaders.

“The emphasis has been on getting the transitional government to hold talks with the Islamic Courts, but we are discussing deployment,” AU special representative for Somalia Mohammed Ali Foum said on Monday.

Somalia has not had effective government since 1991, when warlords overthrew dictator Mohamed Siad Barre

Source: AP, June 20, 2006