UN calls on Somali leaders to address insecurity

[General Duke]

UN calls on Somali leaders to address insecurity

 

www.chinaview.cn 2005-02-11 01:58:11

 

 

NAIROBI, Feb. 10 (Xinhuanet) -- The United Nations on Thursday called on Somali leaders to swiftly address themselves to the growing insecurity in the capital Mogadishu, warning such violencemay jeopardize the fledgling interim government's reconstruction efforts.

 

In a statement issued in Nairobi, the UN Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator for Somalia, Maxwell Gaylard, also condemned the latest killing of BBC journalist Kate Peyton in Mogadishu on Wednesday.

 

"All the political, religious and business leaders in Mogadishuneed to deal with this issue urgently. Attacks on civilians and the media must stop," said Gaylard.

 

"This is the only way they can garner the support and goodwill they need for the long road to peace and reconstruction," he added.

 

The shooting of Peyton follows a grenade attack on the HornAfrik Media Inc. premises last month. There were no casualtiesin that incident.

 

Meanwhile, the UN Independent Expert on the situation of human rights in Somalia, Ghanim Alnajjar, has also expressed deep concern over the latest killing.

 

"Such attacks on media outlets constitute a serious violation of Article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. A freeand independent press which does not fear any party is a main pillar of any political settlement," said Alnajjar, who is in the region on his annual mission to assess the situation of human rights in Somalia.

 

Peyton, 39, a producer based in Johannesburg, died while undergoing an operation to remove a bullet wound to her back at Mogadishu's Medina hospital after she was gunned down by unknown attackers outside a local hotel.

 

The circumstances surrounding the incident remain unclear, but according to local reports Peyton was entering the Hotel Sahafi when two masked men drove by in a taxi and shot her in the shoulder. Enditem