Regional heads stress need for peacekeeping force

An East African regional bloc engaged in efforts to restore stability in Somalia has asked the African Union (AU) to approve a plan to send a peacekeeping force to the Horn of Africa country, urging the quick release of funds to implement the deployment.

The Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD), whose leaders met in the Kenyan capital, Nairobi, on Tuesday, has been pushing for a quick deployment of a peace support mission to Somalia despite the fact that the Union of Islamic Courts (UIC), which controls the capital, Mogadishu, and a large part of the south and central regions of the country, is opposed to the idea of foreign troops in Somalia.

At Tuesday's meeting, IGAD representatives reiterated their support for Somalia's Transitional Federal Charter and the Transitional Federal Institutions "as an embodiment of the common will of the Somali people".

Somalia's Transitional Federal Government (TFG) favours the deployment of African troops to help it to establish its authority. The country has been without a functioning national administration since the overthrow in 1991 of the regime headed by the late Muhammad Siyad Barre.

They also expressed their support for ongoing dialogue between the TFG and UIC and urged both parties to overcome any differences by pursuing genuine reconciliation.

Representatives from the TFG and UIC agreed on Monday during talks mediated by the League of Arab States in the Sudanese capital, Khartoum, to unite their forces and reconstitute the Somali national army and the national police force.

United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan on Tuesday supported the peace talks, saying the agreement to unify armed grouped from both sides was a positive step forward in efforts towards reconciliation.

"The Secretary-General commends the parties for having taken this positive step forward in efforts to resolve their differences through dialogue and consultations, with a view to achieving lasting peace and stability in Somalia," a spokesman for Annan said in a statement.

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