Ethiopia hails UN resolution on peacekeeping in Somalia

Ethiopia on Thursday hailed a UN Security Council resolution to dispatch a regional peacekeeping force to Somalia, saying that the resolution proves the correctness of the policies the Ethiopian government has been pursuing with regard to Somalia.

Birhan Hailu, Ethiopian minister of information, told journalists that Ethiopia would provide the necessary assistance for the successful implementation of the resolution.

Ethiopia has repeatedly expressed its readiness to give maximum support for any resolution that could bring lasting peace to Somalia, said Birhan, also government spokesman.

He said the Ethiopian people and the government firmly believe the resolution would highly contribute to bringing lasting peace in Somalia.

Birhan said the resolution reaffirms the acceptance by the international community of Ethiopia's policies with regard to Somalia.

The deployment of the peacekeeping force would help strengthen Somalia's Transitional Federal Government so as to protect itself and bring peace and stability to that country, he said.

Ethiopia has been providing various assistance to Somalia's Transitional Federal Government which has been recognized by the international community, he added.

In line with this, the Ethiopian government, in cooperation with the African Union (AU) and the seven-nation east African regional organization Inter Governmental Authority on Development (IGAD), has been exerting utmost efforts to bring lasting peace to the country, said Birhan.

The Ethiopian minister called on the international community to provide necessary assistance for the successful implementation of the UN resolution.

On Wednesday, the UN Security Council unanimously adopted a resolution backing plans to dispatch a regional peacekeeping force in Somalia to prop up the weak transitional government there.

The text also urged Somalia's Transitional Federal Government and its powerful Islamist foes to resume peace talks "without delay" on the basis of accords reached in Khartoum.

The resolution endorsed the deployment of an 8,000-strong peacekeeping mission manned by troops from the IGAD. It also called for an easing of the 1992 arms embargo on Somalia to allow "supplies of weapons and military equipment and technical training and assistance intended solely for the support or use by the (IGAD) force."

Source: Xinhua