Tue Jul 5, 2011 4:2PM
Somali government soldiers cross the road during clashes with al-Shabab fighters in southern Mogadishu's Bakara market neighborhood on Friday, May 27, 2011.
An East African regional group has urged the UN to impose a no-fly zone over Somalia to block arms supplies to al-Shabab militants in the country.
During an Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) forum in the Ethiopian capital of Addis Ababa, Kenyan President Mwai Kibaki called on the UN Security Council (UNSC) to enforce a no-fly zone over those parts of Somalia that are controlled by al-Shabab militants, Africa Review reported.
“The assembly reiterates its call for the UNSC to provide support to AMISOM (the African Union Mission in Somalia), including mission enablers, and to adopt a resolution that enforces a blockade of Kismayu, Barava, Merka and Elmaan and impose air exclusion zone on Balidogle and Cisaley to cut the supply lines” to the al-Shabab militants, a resolution issued by the organization read.
The IGAD leaders, including top officials from Djibouti, Kenya, Ethiopia, Somalia, Sudan and Uganda, also criticized former member Eritrea, which has been accused of providing al-Shabab militants with ammunitions.
Hundreds of people, including both militants and troops, have been killed in heavy clashes between Somali government troops backed by AU forces and al-Shabab fighters.
Somalia has been without a functioning government since 1991, when warlords overthrew former dictator Mohamed Siad Barre.
Strategically located in the Horn of Africa, the lawless land is one of the countries generating the highest number of refugees and internally displaced persons (IDPs) in the world.
MAB/PKH/AKM
No comments:
Post a Comment