New York - The United Nations asked the international
community on Wednesday to support the current government in Somalia,
which survived a recent coup attempt and is facing increasing
violence in response to its gains in the peace process.
'Now is not the time to analyze and discuss, but to provide
concrete help while it can still make a difference,' said B Lynn
Pascoe, the UN under secretary general for political affairs.
Somali President Sheikh Sharif's government forces repelled last
weekend an attempt to overthrow him. Heavy fighting in Mogadishu
inflicted high casualties while thousands of Somali fled the capital,
the UN said.
The UN cited news reports that foreign and al-Shabaah fighters
took part in the coup attempt headed by Sheikh Hassan Dahir Aweys. It
described the situation in Mogadishu as 'quite fragile' and the
government's capacity to deal with the situation as limited.
'This latest surge in violence is clearly a response to the
government's strategy to reach out and build a critical mass in
support of peace,' Pascoe told the UN Security Council's meeting on
Somalia.
'As the government gains success in its strategy of negotiation,
persuasion and inclusion, radical elements within the opposition feel
threatened and increase the level of violence,' Pascoe said.
The 15-nation council had wanted to deploy an international
peacekeeping operation to Somalia, but withheld the final decision
until conditions are appropriate for such a force.
Pascoe said international support for Sheikh Sharif and the
beleaguered government in Mogadishu is now crucial to help the
process of bringing warring factions to peace talks following decades
of instability. The government is also facing demands to to quell the
waves of piracy off its coast.
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