Kenyan envoy to the Somalia peace process warned here Monday that the restive Horn of African region risks failing into a full-scale war if the UN Security Council and the regional Inter-Governmental Authority on Development (IGAD) urgently moves to deploy a protection force.

Ambassador Bethwel Kiplagat who spearheaded a two-year reconciliation process in Nairobi warned that the UN Security Council's laxity to lift the decade old arms embargo on Somalia and the lack of interest among the donors could plunge Somalia into crisis.

"The arms embargo has not been lifted, there has been no authority given to deploy a protection force and nobody has come forth to say they will finance the protection force," Kiplagat told a regional meeting of conflict mediators in Nairobi.

The conference to discuss peace building and consolidating peace through the implementation of post conflict accords was organized by the Global Partnership for the prevention of armed conflict.

Somalia, which is in its 15th attempt at set up a central authority after nearly 15 years of civil war, is facing renewed fighting which broke up last week between militia loyal to Islamic Courts and a new alliance purportedly against terrorism.

Reports reaching here say that 90 people were killed last week in what was said to be one of the worst attacks in the country's protracted civil conflict.

The Islamic militia says it is trying to establish law and order but the warlords accuse the courts of terrorizing the people of Somalia.

The Kenyan peace negotiator said the lack of interest on Somalia was leading the authorities in Jowhar astray as they lacked even the slightest of all machinery to enforce security.

"The governments that accepted to deploy their troops did not receive any logistical help and were to deploy troops using their own resources, the countries that promised funds for reconstruction are yet to bring the money," Kiplagat said.

The recent IGAD Summit urged the UN to lift the arms embargo, which bars any form of military activity in Somalia to remove it so that the IGAD Peace Support Mission to Somalia (IGASOM) would be deployed.

They also pledged to urgently make financial and material contributions to the implementation of what they called the Baidoa Security Plan, which involves the demobilization of the militias in Somalia.

Source: Xinhua