CAIRO April 4, 2007 – Diplomats from the United States, Europe and Africa called for immediate action to restore security and stability in Somalia, at a meeting in Cairo on Tuesday.

“This is not the time for the typical international response to crises in Africa, which has mainly featured fact finding missions,” said Kenyan Foreign Minister Raphael Tuju, representing the inter-African IGAD group.

“Many things have to be done at the same time, there has to be multi-tasking,” he said. Participants said reconciliation, restoration of security and rehabilitation were urgently needed in the shattered country, which has been the scene of deadly clashes between insurgents, government forces and Ethiopian troops.

“The imminent task facing us is to reach a ceasefire in Mogadishu,” said Norwegian State Secretary Raymond Johansen in his opening remarks.

“There have been promising signs of dialogue.” “It is clear that the Ethiopian presence in Somalia is not sustainable and the ground has to be prepared for their withdrawal,” added Johansen.

The peace efforts came after four days of fierce fighting in the Somali capital between Ethiopian-backed Somali troops and rebels killed more than 120 people and forced thousands to flee.

The meeting of the International Contact Group on Somalia, also attended by the US assistant secretary of state for African affairs, Jendayi Frazer, was hosted by the Arab League.

The organization’s Secretary-General Amr Mussa likewise called for the withdrawal of Ethiopian soldiers and said the League had pledged one million dollars to help merge militias into a new national army.

Tuju cautioned that “we cannot wait for the training of Somalis to take charge of their security ... Somalia is going to need a lot of injections of international funding for it to become viable.”

Already 1,200 Ugandan peacekeepers have traveled to Somalia under the aegis of the African Union, but have so far have failed to stem the violence. Tuju said both Benin and Burundi have each pledged two additional battalions, which could mean about another 2,000 soldiers.

The contact group was formed last June but has struggled to bring Somalia’s warring parties back to the negotiating table.

The government is struggling to pacify Mogadishu ahead of a National Reconciliation Conference, planned to start April 16, despite threats of disruption by hardline Islamists.

“Time is running out for the (transitional government) to fulfill their mandate,” warned Johansen.

Source: Reuters