Som@li Posted April 14, 2007 UN News Service (New York) April 13, 2007 Posted to the web April 13, 2007 Reacting to rising tensions between Somalia's autonomous Puntland region and self-declared Somaliland, the senior United Nations envoy to the country today called on all sides to allow humanitarian activities to continue unimpeded. "These tensions threaten not only to undermine the political stability and economic progress that both sides have so painstakingly achieved, but also international support for their efforts," Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon's Special Representative for Somalia, François Lonseny Fall, said in a statement released in Nairobi. "I would like to appeal to the authorities in both Puntland and Somaliland to immediately cease all hostile actions, refrain from any provocative acts and take all necessary steps to reduce tensions in the Sool and Sanaag regions," Mr. Fall said. He appealed to both sides to ensure unrestricted access to all humanitarian efforts and not to impede United Nations humanitarian activities. Recent fighting in Somalia between the Ethiopian-backed Transitional Federal Government (TFG) forces and insurgents has left hundreds dead and wounded, while tens of thousands of civilians have fled Mogadishu as a result of the conflict, Mr. Fall today told a meeting in Nairobi of the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD), a regional organization that has been involved in efforts to stabilize Somalia. "All the hospitals in the city and its environs have been overwhelmed with the rising number of casualties," he added. Somalia: UN Envoy Concerned At Rising Tensions Between Puntland And Somaliland Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
