Wednesday, May 16, 2007
In a statement from the AU headquarters, Konare condemned "in the strongest terms this despicable attack" and expressed "his condolences to the families of the bereaved and commiserates with those of the wounded."
Konare has learned with "utter shock and disbelief" of the attack on the members of the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM), which occurred Wednesday in northern Mogadishu, while they were on patrol, according to the statement.
The attack occurred as a convoy of AU Ugandan peacekeeping troops went past the destroyed Aruba Hotel in northern Mogadishu. It was not immediately clear whether it was caused by a landmine or a roadside bomb.
Konare took this opportunity to pay tribute to the men and women of AMISOM who are deployed in Somalia under the most difficult circumstances, appealing to them to remain engaged in the noble action of helping the people of Somalia, it said.
While calling for an immediate end to this kind of attacks, Konare reiterated that AMISOM troops are deployed "to create conducive conditions for long-term stabilization, facilitate the provision of humanitarian assistance, and the eventual reconstruction and development in Somalia."
He urged the international community to support AMISOM to enable it to carry out its mandate.
He stressed the need for the Somali parties not to resort to the use of force and to resolve their differences through dialogue.
Some 1,500 Ugandan peacekeepers are in Somalia as part of a planned 8,000-strong force that the AU is struggling to assemble.
Source: Xinhua, May 16, 2007