The TFG wants the UN back

The Transitional Federal Government (TFG) of Somalia wants the UN to return its staff to the town of Jowhar and continue its operations there, following the temporary relocation of all UN international staff from the town, a senior government official said.

"There are no security problems in Jowhar to warrant the removal of UN staff from the town. We want to urge the UN to return and resume its operations," Muhammad Abdi Hayir, the minister of information, announced on Tuesday.

There were no threats against the UN "and there are none now," Hayir said. "We [the government] think the decision by the UN to remove its staff from Jowhar was hasty and was not necessary."

According to Sandra Macharia, information officer for the UN Development Programme (UNDP) in Somalia, the temporary relocations of the UN international staff was "a precautionary measure due to the recent military movements in and around the area."

Hayir said the UN based its decision on an "unverified threat" from some leaders based in Mogadishu. Members of the Transitional Federal Instititions (TFIs) in Mogadishu warned of the possibilities of war between the rival groups within the TFIs following reports that troops were being massed in Jowhar.

The TFIs have been divided over the location of the Somali government following its relocation from Nairobi, Kenya, in June.

President Abdullahi Yusuf Ahmed, Prime Minister Ali Muhammad Gedi and their supporters in the TFIs relocated in June from Nairobi to the town of Jowhar, 90 km north of the capital, Mogadishu. They maintain that Mogadishu must be secured before they can transfer the government there.

About 100 members of the 275-strong Transitional Federal Parliament - led by Speaker Sharif Hassan Shaykh Aden - are currently in Mogadishu attempting to restore stability to the war-scarred city.

A section of the government, including several prominent faction leaders, strongly disagreed with the decision to install the administration in Jowhar. The proposed deployment of peacekeepers, particularly from Somalia's neighbours, also has deeply divided the new government.

There have been numerous attempts by the international community and the UN to mediate an end to the divisions. Last month, François Lonsény Fall, the special representative of the UN Secretary-General to Somalia, presented an "agenda for dialogue" to Somali leaders, aimed at helping them overcome their current differences and find a way forward.

The TFG will guarantee "the safety and security of all UN staff in Jowhar," if they were to return, according to Hayir.

Macharia, however, asserted that the relocation was based on a security assessment. "These assessments are routine and based on certain criteria," she explained. The relocation "is purely based on security concerns, it is not a political issue.

"The UN is constantly monitoring the situation with the aim of returning the international staff to Jowhar once the security situation, based on the criteria, allows," she said.