PANA
Sunday, September 26, 2010
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Nairobi, Kenya - The internationalization of the Somali conflict has become a grave concern for the larger horn of Africa region and beyond, Kenyan President Mwai Kibaki has said. Kibaki made the remarks in a statement read on his behalf by Foreign Affairs Minister Moses Wetangula, during a Mini-Summit on Somalia, held on the sidelines of the 65th Session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) in New York City, US.According to the Presidential Press Service (PPS), Kibaki said Kenya was shouldering the heaviest responsibility in form of large numbers of refugees, piracy, the influx of small arms and the growing terrorism threats.
He stated that as the international community delayed in action, extremist elements extended control over large territories of Somalia, including Mogadishu, and their capacity to inflict countless casualties increased by the day.
'While the scale and magnitude of this problem is greater than any other, it suffers being neglected from the international community, leading to many lost opportunities to resolve it,' observed President Kibaki.
The Head of State noted that the capacity of the Al-Shabaab to cause harm beyond the borders of Somalia was demonstrated by the Kampala bomb-attacks in July this year.
'Their capacity to inflict casualties on civilians and humanitarian actors as well as attack the Transitional Federal Government (TFG) is growing by the day,' he said.
He asserted that Somalia was at a critical period with only 11 months remaining before the end of the transition period and called for an impetus to prepare institutions as well as the ground for a new political dispensation in the war ravag
During the occasion, Kibaki commended the governments of Uganda and Burundi for their continued sacrifices and contribution to the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM).
He affirmed that AMISOM continued to safeguard vital installations in Mogadishu under very challenging circumstances and called upon the international community to AU's initiative especially the deployment of the recommended 20,000 troops and transforming the force into a UN peacekeeping mission.
He said: 'In July of this year, the Inter-Governmental Authority on Development (IGAD) Summit identified critical elements of engagement and took a number of decisions on the way forward. These decisions were endorsed by the African Union S ummit in Kampala in July 2010.
'Unfortunately, the support needed to implement these decisions by the international community has not been forthcoming.'
Source: PANA