Thabo Mbeki the AU must support Somalia.

[General Duke]

Madaxweynaha Wadanka K/Africa, Soo Jeediyey In Dalalka Africa ay Caawimaad Siiyaan Hawlgalada Nabad-Raadineed Ee Soomaaliya .

Posted to the Web Jan 13, 02:43

 

 

JOHANNESBURG - Madaxweynaha wadanka Koonfur Africa, Thabo Mbeki, ayaa soo jeediyey in dalalka Africa, ay gacan ka geystaan sidii Nabad waarta loogu heli lahaa wadanka mushkiladaha dagaal ay la degeen ee Soomaaliya.

 

 

Presdent Mbeki, oo aan carabka ku dhufanin in dalkiisu uu ciidamo u dirayo Soomaaliya, ayaa daaha ka rogay in Africa ay iska kaashaato sidii Soomaaliya looga samata bixin lahaa marxaladaha khalalaasaha xambaarsan ee halakeeyey sanooyin dhowr ah.

 

 

Ma cadda in Dowlada Koonfur Africa, ay diyaar la tahay in ciidamadeeda ay ku biiraan howlgalka nabadda loogu soo dabaalayo Soomaaliya, oo ay fulinayaan wadamo African-ah sida uu qorshuhu yahay.

 

 

Sarkaal katirsan Wasaarada arrimaha Dibada ee south Africa, ayaa horey u shaaciyey in Xukuumadiisu ay ka meer-meerayso inay ciidamo u dirto Soomaaliya.

 

 

South Africa, ayaa haatan ka xaajoonaysa codsi lasoo gaarsiiyey oo dalbanaya in ciidamo nabadda ilaaliya ay u dirto wadanka dhaca geeska Africa ee Soomaaliya, kuwaasi oo qeyb ka qaadan doona hawlgalada nabad-raadineed ee Soomaaliya.

 

 

C/risaaq C/laahi Maxamed

Puntlandonline.com

 

 

Muqdisho

[General Duke]

Africa must help Somalia, says Mbeki

 

Cape Town, South Africa

 

 

12 January 2007 04:09

 

Africa has no choice but to help bring peace to war-torn Somalia, President Thabo Mbeki said on Friday, but did not pronounce on whether South Africa was to contribute troops to any such effort.

 

"For the sake both of Somalia and our continent as a whole, Africa has no choice but to come to the aid of this sister African country," he said in his first weekly newsletter for 2007, published on his party's ANC Today website.

 

Mbeki said Somalia had, over time, fallen apart and ceased to exist as a viable state.

 

"This has led to the eventuality that, as the year 2007 began, Somalia put itself firmly at the top of the African Agenda."

 

While it is true Somalia remains an independent state, it has, for the past 15 years, been the victim of a protracted internal conflict.

 

This has "resulted in the collapse of the state, the death of an estimated one million Somalis, the emigration of thousands as refugees, and the impoverishment of millions as a result of severe and sustained socio-economic regression".

 

Complicating the situation in that country, "allegations have now been made that international terrorist groups have established themselves in Somalia".

 

Mbeki was apparently referring to United States air strikes earlier this week, carried out against suspected al-Qaeda groups within Somalia.

 

Earlier on Friday, a South African foreign affairs official, speaking on condition of anonymity, was reported to have said South Africa is hesitant to send troops to Somalia.

 

The official said sending troops to Somalia might result in South Africa being seen as fighting the US's war on terror, and that any peacekeeping there would lose credibility.

 

A call has been made on African countries to provide 8 000 troops to help with peacekeeping in the country.

 

Ibrahim Gambari, the United Nations undersecretary general for political affairs, said earlier this week that while no countries have made commitments, several nations are considering sending personnel.

 

He named Nigeria, South Africa and Malawi as countries considering sending troops.

 

Foreign Minister Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma was reported on Tuesday as saying South Africa has not yet been asked to contribute forces.

 

"Usually we don't cross bridges until we come to them. We will wait for that request," she reportedly said at the time.

 

Mbeki said Somalia has turned into a "source of regional instability" at a time when the African Union is intensifying its efforts to ensure Africa becomes a continent of peace.

 

"In many respects the deeply entrenched Somali crisis demonstrates what can happen to many of our countries if they are not governed and managed in a manner that addresses the interests of all citizens, bearing in mind the national specifics of each country," he said. -- Sapa

[General Duke]

German president calls for African cooperation in Somalia peace efforts

 

The Associated PressPublished: January 12, 2007

 

ACCRA, Ghana: German President Horst Koehler called for African countries to work with European powers to step up peace efforts in Somalia and other troubled parts of the continent.

 

Koehler made the statement in a meeting with Ghana President John Kufuor late Thursday, part of a four-day visit to the West African country. The meeting was not open to the press but a government spokesman later briefed reporters on the conversation.

 

Koehler said Germany could work in collaboration with "countries like Ghana" to increase operations in Somalia and other hotspots, according to Ghanaian presidential spokesman Andrews Awuni.

 

The German president added that his country would continue to support Ghana in its leadership role in regional peacekeeping and expressed satisfaction that the country made had used international peacekeeping training financed mostly by Germany to benefit

 

U.S., European Union, African and Arab diplomats have called for an African peacekeeping force of about 8,000 soldiers in Somalia, where government forces backed by Ethiopian troops drove an Islamic movement out of the Somali capital earlier this month.

 

Ghana was among the nations believed likely to be asked to contribute, given its past involvement in peacekeeping operations. A Ghana military spokesman said any request for troop contributions would need to come from the African Union.

 

Col. Emmanuel Nibo also said that it would be difficult for Ghana to contribute troops in Somalia because the country is still organizing a promised force to Sudan.

 

"However, we may consider a request for a handful of personnel — about a dozen officers — to serve as observers or to form a technical support team in Somalia, but not in hundreds or a battalion," Nibo said.

 

Awuni said Kufuor called for closer economic relations between Germany and Africa, saying Africa can contribute labor and materials to Europe.

 

Koehler is in Ghana to co-host a conference bringing together young African and European leaders with decision makers on the continent on Saturday. Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo and Liberian President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf are expected to attend.

[General Duke]