Wednesday, September 04, 2013
Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, warning that Somalia could slide back
into being a failed state, called Tuesday on countries around the world
to provide the African Union-led peacekeeping force there with attack
helicopters and armored troop carriers to take the fight to Al-Shabab
militants in the field.
The U.N. chief called on U.N. members, including African
countries not yet involved, to provide the African Union-led
peacekeeping force with attack helicopters, armored troop carries and
other support to root out the al-Qaida-allied Al-Shabab.
“The political, security and development gains made so far in
Somalia are still reversible,” Ban said in a report to the Security
Council. The al-Qaida-allied terrorist group Al-Shabab “continues to
undermine security throughout the country, including in Mogadishu.”
“Allowing Al-Shabab to continue its training and conduct terrorist
activities from bases in Somalia will not only undermine peace in
Somalia, but also that of the wider region,” he said.
The AU
peacekeeping mission in Somalia — known as AMISOM — is endorsed by the
U.N. Security Council and is meant to pave the way for an eventual U.N.
peacekeeping force. It is led by Ugandan officers, and also has large
Kenya and Burundi contingents. It has more than 17,000 troops.
The
United Nations has especially been stung since Al-Shabab attacked the
U.N. compound in Mogadishu on June 19, killing a U.N. Development
Program staffer, thee U.N. contractors, four Somali guards and at least
six Somali bystanders. It was the first direct attack on a U.N. building
in Somalia since 2008.
Since then, the international aid group Doctors Without Borders has pulled out of Somalia, citing increasing dangers there.
Somalia
has long been plagued by cyclical drought and famine and decades of
armed conflict. But in recent years it has been seen as making strides
in security and governance, particularly since August 2011, when
al-Qaida-aligned militants were forced out of Mogadishu.
Al-Shabab militants still control much of the country’s south.