Somalia's neighbors are pleading for urgent international help to
prevent the strategic Horn of Africa nation from falling into the hands
of foreigners bent on turning it into a haven for terrorists. Regional foreign ministers held an emergency
session to rally support for a last ditch effort to defend the
transitional Somali government against a foreign invasion force.
Six
Horn of Africa countries comprising the Intergovernmental Authority on
Development, or IGAD, met in extraordinary session Friday with
representatives of the African Union and the United Nations. The
subject was how to save Somalia's embattled government from imminent
collapse.
A day after the U.N. Security Council threatened
sanctions against regional rogue state Eritrea, Ethiopia's Foreign
Minister Seyoum Mesfin said Somalia's conflict has changed from a civil
war to a foreign invasion by forces hoping to create a radical Islamic
state.
"The fighting is no longer between and among Somalis," he
said. "It is a war of aggression on Somalia by external enemies,
including al-Qaida."
Somalia's Foreign Minister Mohamed Abdilahi Omaar warned that radical Islamist fighters are arriving by the thousands.
"The
current war in Somalia is a foreign war, led and supported by from
outside the country," he said. "The leaders and the commanders of the
armies are foreign, money comes from outside, ideology and political
intentions, and programs are foreign based."
The U.N. Security
Council is considering a request by the African Union and IGAD for
tough measures to stop the foreign influx, including a naval blockade
and a no-fly zone. Experts, however, say those measures will take
months to implement, and would likely have limited effect in patrolling
Africa's longest coastline.
What may be more timely is a rapid
infusion of new forces to the African Union Peacekeeping force known as
AMISOM, which is currently at only a little more than half its
authorized strength of 8,000, and giving them authority to use force
rather than simply to defend themselves.
In May, Somali troops
backed by AMISOM repulsed a ferocious al-Shabab military assault aimed
at toppling the transitional government. But AU Peace and Security
Council director El-Ghassim Wane told the ministers the radical forces
have regrouped and appear to be ready for a second wave.
"Even
though the insurgents have so far not achieved their objectives, there
is credible information that they are moving their forces into
strategic positions in preparation for another major offensive," said
Wane. "This of course calls for enhanced continued response by the AU
and IGAD with the support of our partners in the international
community."
Uganda and Burundi provide almost the entire AMISOM
force at present. Both have pledged to send more, but the dispatch of
troops has been delayed by technical issues. Other potential troop
contributions appear to be month or years away
The IGAD
countries, Ethiopia, Kenya, Sudan, Uganda, Djibouti and Somalia, are
appealing to the U.N. Security Council to repeal part of an earlier
resolution that prohibits Somalia's neighbors from contributing troops
to AMISOM.
The United States recently delivered a $10 million package of weapons and training to Somali government forces. But
military experts say it will take much more, including air and naval
capability, to stop the well-trained and well-financed foreign
fighters.
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