Arab League Proposes International Somalia Meeting

CAIRO, Oct 1, 2006 – The Arab League has proposed an international meeting with the African Union, the European Union and the United Nations to talk about peace in Somalia.

A League official said Secretary-General Amr Moussa wanted the meeting to take place before the end of October to help bring peace to Somalia, where Islamist fighters in control of the capital threaten a transitional government's tenuous efforts to establish its authority over the country. "We are proposing to hold a meeting that would be jointly prepared between the Arab League and the African Union," Moussa aide Hesham Youssef said.

The Islamists who control Mogadishu have expanded their influence in recent months, effectively flanking the Western-backed interim government, based in the provincial town of Baidoa, on three sides.

Youssef said attendees would "consult on how to move forward in relation to the situation in Somalia". The United Nations, European Union and IGAD -- a peace mediation body made up of several east African nations -- would be invited to attend.

"It will not be focused on one particular aspect of the situation but the whole situation in general," Youssef said.

Somalia has not had effective government since 1991, when warlords overthrew dictator Mohamed Siyad Barre and then fought each other. Analysts fear the current standoff could spark a major regional crisis in the Horn of Africa.

In a move likely to fuel tensions, regional power Ethiopia said it was helping the interim government train security staff and Uganda has said it was ready to deploy 1,000 troops to Somalia as part of a plan proposed by the interim government. Islamist fighters are opposed to that plan.

Youssef said the Arab League meeting would likely be held in Cairo, which hosts the 22-member Arab League. Somalia is a member of the Arab League.

Source: Reuters