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Gothenburg, Sweden, October 3, 2009 – European Union defense ministers
voiced support on Tuesday for a plan to establish training missions for
Somali security forces outside the war-torn country, EU foreign policy
chief Javier Solana said.
The proposal envisages training police and other security personnel in
Djibouti, where France already conducts such a mission, and possibly
Uganda, Solana told reporters on the sidelines of an EU defense
ministers' meeting in Gothenburg.
"In general terms it is a very well taken idea," Solana said. "But we
have still to polish it up." He said the plan could be discussed by EU
leaders at a summit in November if it can be finalized by then.
EU officials have said the aim of international support for the Somali
security sector is to build up a police force of about 10,000 people and
a security force of 5,000.
At a meeting in Brussels in April, international donors pledged hundreds
of millions of dollars to help Somalia build up its security forces,
fight piracy and restore order after more than two decades of anarchy.
The seizure of international ships in the Gulf of Aden and Indian Ocean
by Somali gangs has driven up insurance rates and other costs in sea
lanes linking Europe to Asia, and Washington has long tried to ensure al
Qaeda cannot operate in Somalia.
Solana stressed the need for the international community as a whole to
contribute to stabilizing Somalia.
"We are not going to solve it alone," he said. "The African Union is
involved already. And other countries from the international community,
the United States, have to get engaged also."
German Defense Minister Franz Josef Jung said German troops, some of
which are already based in Djibouti, could participate. Belgian Defense
Minister Pieter De Crem called the plan "an interesting proposal", but
said some countries would find it difficult to commit resources.
(Reporting by David Brunnstrom and Niklas Pollard; editing by Robin
Pomeroy/David Stamp).
Source: Reuters, Sept 30, 2009
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