SOMALIA - UN

UN's Ban Ki-moon won't send peacekeepers

Friday, November 9, 2007

Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon advocates sending 'coalition of the willing' instead of U.N. peacekeepers, saying a UN envoy is not a realistic option. At least seven died in heavy fighting in Mogadishu on Thursday.

UN chief Ban Ki-moon said Thursday that deploying UN troops in strife-torn Somalia was not a "realistic and viable option" and instead suggested sending a "coalition of the willing" to enable Ethiopian troops to withdraw.
  
In his quarterly report on the volatile situation in the east African country, released here Thursday, Ban noted that "under the prevailing political and security situation ... the deployment of a United Nations peacekeeping operation cannot be considered a realistic and viable option."
  
Instead, he said that "it may be advisable to look at additional security options, including the deployment of a robust multinational force or coalition of the willing."
  
He said such a force "could initially be small and self-sustaining, growing over time with the achievement of specific security and political milestones."
  
"In due time, such a force could be built to a level that would enable Ethiopian forces to commence a partial, then complete withdrawal from the country," he added.
  
The UN Security Council last August renewed for six months the mandate of a weak, under-funded African Union (AU) force and pushed back plans to replace it with a UN peacekeeping force.
  
Uganda, which has deployed a vanguard force of at least 1,500 peacekeepers to the AU force, has also pledged to help train a Somali police force.
  
But other African nations have yet to contribute to the force although the AU had pledged to deploy 8,000 peacekeepers to help Somali authorities tighten their tenuous grip across the country.
  
Last year, Ethiopian troops came to the rescue of the embattled Somali government to oust an Islamist militia that briefly controlled large parts of the country and sought to impose Islamic law.
  
The Islamic Courts Union was swiftly defeated earlier this year, but its remnants and allied tribes have since waged a guerrilla war against their enemies.
  
Ethiopian troops have been venturing deeper into the streets of Islamist bastions in Mogadishu in recent days in a bid to break the back of the  insurgency.
  
The violence has crippled Somalia's economy, left hundreds dead and forced tens of thousands to flee Mogadishu, fueling popular resentment against the Ethiopian presence.

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