Wednesday, March 14, 2007
A statement read by South African Ambassador Dumisani Kumalo, who chairs the 15-member council this month, said members "expressed concern at and deplored the violence in Mogadishu."
They also condemned the attacks against the African Union stabilisation force in Somalia and the leaders of the transitional federal institutions."
Council members also pressed all parties in Somalia to continue to work "on a representative and inclusive political process" and called for a "rapid deployment" of further AU troops.
They also expressed "great concern at the deteriorating humanitarian situation" and called on donors to provide financial and logistical support to the AU peacekeepers as well as to Somalia's transitional federal institutions.
Earlier the council received a briefing from François Lonseny Fall, UN chief Ban Ki-moon's special representative for Somalia.
Fall later told reporters that the security situation inside Mogadishu remained the biggest problem.
Some 1,000 of a total of 1,500 Ugandan troops have already arrived to spearhead the AU force in Somalia. The AU plans to send a multinational force of some 8,000 in total.
In December, Ethiopian troops helped Somali government fighters oust a powerful Islamist movement from Mogadishu.
The AU force aims to help restore calm in the Somali capital, the scene of almost-daily attacks since the start of the year, and to allow Ethiopian forces to withdraw.
So far, the AU has managed to raise only around half of the required 8,000 troops. Burundi has offered 1,700 troops and Nigeria 850, while Malawi and Ghana are also expected to contribute.
The current AU mission is the first international peacekeeping venture since an ill-fated UN-backed, US-led peace mission launched in the early 1990s.
Somalia, a nation of about 10 million people, plunged into lawlessness after the 1991 ouster of dictator Mohamed Siad Barre.
Source: AFP, Mar 14, 2007