Somalia not yet safe - Annan

The precarious security situation in Somalia rendered it not yet safe to deploy a post-conflict peace-building mission in the country, although there is still need for thorough review of the country's security situation to be undertaken with the cooperation of the Transitional National Government (TNG) and the faction leaders, a recent United Nations assessment has found. The UN would, however, continue to monitor the situation and, when it improved, submit a detailed proposal to the Security Council, Secretary General Kofi Annan said on 11 October. In a periodic report on the situation in Somalia to the Security Council, the Secretary-General - who welcomed the new permanent representative of Somalia to the UN, Ahmad Abdi Hashi - said: "The Secretariat has reported to the Council in informal consultations that the security situation in Somalia has not improved, and remains, by and large, the same today. The seaport and airport remain closed, and there is no single authority in the country that can assure security and unimpeded access to the United Nations, even in Mogadishu. In the circumstances, it is not possible at present for me to recommend the deployment of a post-conflict peace-building mission in Somalia," the Secretary-General said. He expressed concern that the authority of the "presidents" of both Somaliland and Puntland, had been challenged in recent weeks, leading to uncertainty about the political stability of Somalia, and warned that political, humanitarian and developmental challenges the country faced were of such a magnitude that peace-building was likely to take a long time.