|
Nairobi, Kenya, August 13, 2011 – The U.N.'s top diplomat for Somalia
said Wednesday that there are significant improvements in the security
situation in Mogadishu after the surprise withdrawal on Saturday by al-Shabab
insurgents from the city. Augustine Mahiga said the fighters have been
weakened by national and African Union forces, and that they have split
up as they pull back from the Somali capital.
Ambassador Mahiga told reporters via a teleconference from Mogadishu
that al-Shabaab's so-called tactical retreat has fragmented the fighters
into three groups.
"One column going southwards, another going westwards, and another going
northwards - and they are still on the move," said Mahiga. "This
already weakens their consolidated strength."
Mahiga said the Islamist militants are also being starved of financial
support from individual benefactors, mainly in the Middle East and
Arabian Gulf region. They also have lost vital revenue from the Bakaara
market, which is the economic hub of the capital and had been under the
insurgent's control until last week.
The U.N. envoy also credited Security Council sanctions targeting
al-Shabaab for taking a toll on their military and economic strength.
Mahiga said the territorial gains by the Transitional Federal Government
forces, with support from African Union troops, known as AMISOM,
translate to about 95 percent of the capital no longer in insurgent
hands.
Earlier Wednesday, Mahiga briefed the U.N. Security Council via
teleconference, saying that the improved security situation means the
United Nations will be able to expand its presence in the country sooner
than expected.
"We originally had anticipated that Mogadishu would be stabilized within
roughly a year, but we are now revising our planning to focus on the
immediate," added Mahiga. "We are now actively planning for an expanded
U.N. presence inside Somalia, rather than a 'light footprint' we had
envisaged."
Mahiga told journalists that by year's end he hopes to have 24 staff
members in Mogadishu and expanded staffs in Puntland and Somaliland.
Mahiga has asked the Security Council to authorize a force of 300 troops
to guard U.N. personnel and other agencies in the capital.
Next month, on the margins of the U.N. General Assembly annual debate,
U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon is expected to convene a ministerial
meeting on Somalia's political situation. Mahiga said Britain, Italy
and Uganda requested the high-level meeting.
Although Somalia's security situation might be at a positive turning
point, the humanitarian situation in Somalia is becoming more dire.
The U.N.'s Deputy Humanitarian chief Catherine Bragg told the Security
Council that 3.7 million Somalis are in crisis due to the severe drought
and famine. She said children are in particular need, with more than
1.25 million children across southern Somalia in urgent need of
life-saving assistance.
Source:
The VOA
|
|
