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No sanctuary for terrorists - UN envoy

Somalia's permanent representative to the UN, Ambassador Ahmad Abdi Hashi Hasharo, told the UN General Assembly at its 56th session in New York on 14 November that Somalia would not offer sanctuary to any terrorist coming to its shores. "We will arrest and hand them over immediately," he promised. Hasharo condemned the 11 September attacks, which, he said, had "shocked the conscience of all decent human beings", and had been launched by people who had nothing in common with the Islamic faith, because Islam stood for peace, tolerance and compassion. He said Somalis could relate to the pain and suffering of the people of the US "in a very profound and special way", pointing out that the Somali people had themselves been subjected to a reign of terror by warlords. "We in Somalia know very well what it means to lose loved ones." The ambassador condemned what he described as persistent reports alleging the existence of terrorist camps in Somalia. He said Somalia neither hosted terrorists, nor offered them training facilities. He said the Somali government would invite in the media and any other interested parties to verify the facts on the ground. He said that in view of the Somali government's serious concern in this context, "we propose the setting up of an international committee of inquiry under the auspices of the UN Security Council to investigate these allegations". The Somali government was fully prepared to cooperate with such a committee. Hasharo assured the Assembly that the Somali government fully supported UN resolution 1373, and was firmly committed to translating its provisions into action. He said terrorists exploited fragile and unstable states, and reminded his audience that the international community was "under a moral obligation to come to the aid of these states in the form of post-conflict peace-building and national reconstruction". In the case of Somalia, Hasharo said, the international community had two options - either "to watch the country slide back into anarchy and chaos, or to fully support the struggling Somali state by providing the necessary resources to enable it play a meaningful role in the fight against terrorism".

This article was produced by IRIN News while it was part of the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. Please send queries on copyright or liability to the UN. For more information: https://shop.un.org/rights-permissions

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