United States top diplomat for Africa has wrapped up her four-nation diplomatic tour aimed at restoring stability to Somalia by pledging financial aid to the war ravaged Horn of African nation.

Speaking in Nairobi late Sunday, U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Jendayi Frazer whose trip also included visits to Ethiopia, Djibouti and Yemen, said Washington would use its diplomatic and financial resources to support the ensconced transitional government of Somalia.

Frazer, who has been shuttling around the region to shore up international support for Somalia's transitional government, said the lawless nation was important to Washington because of its strategic location in the Horn of Africa, where the Red Sea opens into the Indian Ocean.

"We have made clear that we see a role in the future of Somalia for all who renounce violence and extremism," she told journalists in Nairobi.

"Over the course of the last few days, I have encouraged the leadership of the TFIs (transitional federal institutions) to make clear through statements and actions their commitment to an inclusive process of dialogue and reconciliation," she said.

Frazer had been planning a surprise visit to Mogadishu on Sunday but called it off because the details of her visit were made public, sparking security concerns in a city known for its unpredictable violence.

Frazer, whose trip was to seek support for African peacekeeping mission, said she hopes the first troops will begin arriving in Mogadishu before the end of the month.

She said the mission would be like the African Union mission in Burundi and could be switched to a United Nations operation if necessary.

She said Uganda has offered to deploy 1,500 troops into Somalia, the AU is working to beef up its force, and Kenyan Foreign Minister Raphael Tuju plans to travel to five African countries to seek additional troops.

The U.S. diplomat said a key challenge for Somalia's transitional government will be to bring all concerned parties in Somalia to the negotiating table, adding that the Islamic leaders have a role to play in a peaceful Somalia.

"The traditional religious leaders -- Islamic leaders -- have a stake in Somali society in this dialogue, in this reconciliation," she said. "There's no reason why they shouldn't be part of it."

The United States wants to make sure international terrorists do not take advantage of the chaos to establish a safe haven in Somalia.

Frazer said she and others in the Washington-backed international panel on Somalia made what she calls significant progress in getting the international community to support the transitional government.

Frazer who has asserted that Al-Qaeda took control of Somalia's Islamic Courts last June, was in Kenya as part of a tour of the Horn of Africa and nearby Arab countries to discuss bringing stability to Somalia.

Source: Xinhua