Tuesday, August 05, 2008
In a statement issued in Nairobi, the EU termed all acts of violence perpetrated against civilians which also left more than 50 others injured as "unjustifiable" in the Horn of Africa nation.
"The EU Presidency strongly condemns all acts of violence perpetrated against civilians in Somalia, and calls for the immediate end to all violence," the statement said.
A roadside bomb explosion occurred in Mogadishu early on Monday, killing most of women cleaners who were sweeping a street in the Somali capital.
The explosion and overnight attacks on military bases ended a brief period of relative calm that followed the signing of a peace deal in Djibouti between the Somali government and the opposition early last June.
The EU called on the Somali warring factions to redouble their efforts by working together to overcome the political problems that are threatening the peace deal.
"The EU urges all parties to redouble their efforts in order to swiftly sign the Djibouti Agreement initialed on June 9 between the transitional government and the Alliance for the Re-Liberation of Somalia to establish a ceasefire and lasting peace in Somalia," the statement said.
The United Nations estimated that about 1.5 million people have fled after recent fighting. The country's opposition groups, which include Islamists ousted from power in 2006, are opposed to Ethiopian troops remaining in Somalia.
African Union troops have not been able to quell the violence, which has triggered what aid workers say may be the worst humanitarian crisis in Africa.
Somalia has been devastated by a civil conflict since 1991, when former President Mohamed Siad Barre was ousted.
Source: Xinhua, Aug 05, 2008