Emperor Posted December 5, 2007 Wednesday, December 05, 2007 The US secretary of state has asked for more African countries to send peacekeepers to Somalia to put an end to a conflict that has killed thousands of civilians. Speaking from Ethiopia's capital Addis Ababa, Condoleeza Rice said an African force should to be set up to take pressure off Ethiopian forces currently operating in Somalia "We do believe the Ethiopian forces should not have to stay in Somalia past a certain point, and that will require peacekeeping forces, very robust peacekeeping force, and so that will be part of my discussions here," Rice said on Wednesday. Rice is meeting African leaders amid growing US unease concerning worsening security and failing peace deals in a number of countries on the continent. An African Union (AU) peacekeeping force in Somalia comprises of just 1,800 Ugandan troops, so far no other African countries have sent contingents. Somalia security Ethiopia sent troops to Somalia late last year to support the transitional government against the Islamic Courts Union which controlled large areas of the country. It is not part of the AU force. "She [Rice] could actually achieve a whole lot if she wanted to. The most important issue right now in Ethiopia is the severely deteriorated situation in Somalia, where massive human suffering continues to intensify," Salim Lone, Africa analyst and columnist, told Al Jazeera. In Video US military searching for a home in Africa "War crimes are being committed, civilian communities are being targeted, journalists are being killed [and] food is being withheld from areas that are considered hostile to the government. This must change." Lone said that the situation of in Somalia had been of the "United States' making" and that it should change its strategy for the region. Rice, who is the first US secretary of state to visit Africa in a decade, is scheduled to meet Somalia's new prime minister during her trip. Five ministers in the Somali government resigned this week, soon after the cabinet was named, in protest at what they see as lack of representation for their respective clans. Inclusive administration Rice said that the Somali prime minister had to be more inclusive in his administration. "The Somali leadership is going to have to really reach out to all the elements that are not associated with terrorism," Rice said. "The Somali leadership is going to have to really reach out to all the elements that are not associated with terrorism" Condoleezza Rice, US secretary of state "It has to be broad and that's really my message to the prime minister. He has to find a way to broaden his base of support." Ethiopia invaded Somalia in December 2006 to battle fighters loyal to the Islamic Courts Union (ICU), who had taken control of the south of the country from the government. Although the Islamic movement was defeated by Ethiopian forces its supporters are now leading the fighting against the government. Nearly 6,000 civilians have been killed in the crossfire this year, according to a Somali human right group. Rice is also due to hold talks with Meles Zenawi, Ethiopia's prime minister, whose country shares a tense border with rival Eritrea. "We don't need a use of force here to deal with what is obviously a significant border problem," Rice said on her way to Addis Ababa. Tens of thousands of people were killed during a 1998-2000 Ethiopian-Eritrean war, and the border issue remains unresolved after a border commission ended its mandate on Saturday. DR Congo talks In her first meeting on Wednesday, Rice met leaders from Burundi, Rwanda, Uganda and the Democratic Republic of Congo to discuss the conflict in eastern DR Congo. Fighters following Laurent Nkunda, a renegade Congolese general, have been fighting UN-backed government forces in the area. Rice also discussed Congo, where rebel general Nkunda is fighting UN-backed forces [AFP] Rice said dealing with the rebels is critical to re-establishing normalcy in a region that has been devastated by decades of war and genocide that have killed millions. "We had a very thorough discussion," Yoweri Museveni, Uganda's president, said. "Part of the danger in Africa is handling issues in a superficial way." Tens of thousands of people have fled from violence in eastern DR Congo recently, straining humanitarian resources in the region. Rice said she would also focus on the Darfur conflict in Sudan on her trip, in an attempt to support a faltering peace deal that ended Sudan's north-south civil war. She said the US wants a joint UN-AU peacekeeping force to be deployed in Darfur. Sudan's government and Arab Janjiwid fighters have been accused of killing thousands of black Africans living in Darfur. Source: AlJazeera, Dec 05, 2007 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Emperor Posted December 5, 2007 From the BBC... US lobbying for peace keeping troops in Somalia Wednesday, December 05, 2007 US urges more troops for Somalia US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice has called for more peacekeeping troops to be deployed urgently to Somalia to replace Ethiopian soldiers. She said the US appreciated the deployment of an advance Ugandan force but they "frankly need to be joined soon by other forces". The US is offering to help African states who send troops to Somalia. Ms Rice is in the Ethiopian capital, Addis Ababa, for meetings on some of Africa's worst conflicts. As well as Somalia, she is holding talks on the Democratic Republic of Congo and Sudan with regional presidents and ministers. 'Robust forces' Ethiopian troops marched into Somalia a year ago to help Somalia's UN-backed interim government oust Islamist forces. AFRICA'S TROUBLE-SPOTS DR Congo - fighting in the east, recovering from a 1997-2003 civil war which claimed 3m lives Somalia - thousands killed or displaced in conflict between Ethiopian-backed government and Islamist insurgents Sudan - fragile peace between north and south, continuing conflict in Darfur Ethiopia-Eritrea - tense peace after a 1998-2000 border war claimed 80,000 lives The US supported the intervention which has proven unpopular, with insurgents continuing to stage attacks. The UN says that one million Somalis have been displaced by the fighting, including 60% of the capital's residents. Last month, Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi acknowledged his troops had become bogged down, blaming divisions within the Somali government and calling for other states to send peacekeepers. "We do believe that peace-keeping efforts need to take place in Somalia," Ms Rice said on Wednesday. "We do believe that the Ethiopian forces should not have to stay in Somalia past a certain point but it's going to require peacekeeping forces to be fairly robust peacekeeping forces and so that will be part of my discussion." Ms Rice was due to meet Somalia's new Prime Minister, Nur Hassan Hussein, later in Addis Ababa. She said she would encourage him to engage the widest possible range of parties within his government. DRC pledge The US secretary of state is also due to meet Mr Meles to discuss renewed tensions with neighbouring Eritrea. A deadline set by an international border commission for the countries to demarcate their shared border expired on Friday without agreement. Her first talks were on the latest fighting in DR Congo, with the presidents of Rwanda, Burundi and Uganda, as well as Congolese ministers. They agreed to strengthen the Congolese security institutions, Ms Rice said after the talks. All countries agreed not to "harbour negative forces" - a reference to Rwandan Hutu rebels, which are at the heart of fighting across the region. The Congolese army, backed up by UN peacekeepers, is also trying to disarm a dissident Tutsi general. Laurent Nkunda refuses to join the army, saying his men must keep their arms to defend themselves against the Hutus. Rwanda denies claims it is backing Gen Nkunda. Ms Rice also said that what she called third-party involvement might be required. Delegates said afterwards that this could mean American and European assistance in border monitoring. Sudanese peace On Sudan, Ms Rice is due to discuss the tensions in the US-brokered 2005 peace deal between north and south. "That is really an agreement that we cannot afford to let unravel," she said. She is also expected to discuss the conflict in Darfur with African officials. However, Sudan's government has signalled that it will not meet Ms Rice, the AP news agency reports. Source: BBC, Dec 05, 2007 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
