Kenya seeks peacekeeping force for Somalia

Kenya has dispatched senior ministers to lobby African countries to contribute troops for a peacekeeping force in war-ravaged Somalia.

A senior official of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs confirmed Monday that Kenyan President Mwai Kibaki, who heads a seven-nation regional peace body, the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD), has sent ministers and special envoys to Rwanda, Tanzania, Mozambique, Angola, Zambia, Tunisia and Algeria.

Moses Wetangula, assistant minister for Foreign Affairs in charge of international relations, said an 8,000-strong force would replace the Ethiopian troops who helped the Somali government oust an Islamist militia.

"It is true the ministers have been dispatched to various African countries to lobby those countries to contribute troops and also to seek their support," Wetangula said by telephone.

So far only Uganda has offered a 1,500-strong troop although parliamentary approval is yet to be secured.

However, it remains unclear as to who would fund the mission, which nations would contribute to it and how quickly it could be mustered.

Kenya, which helped broker the formation of the Somali transitional government in 2004, has expressed willingness to support the efforts to send more than 8,000 peacekeepers into Somalia. The transitional government took power in Somalia's capital Mogadishu late last month.

Ethiopia wants to withdraw its soldiers from Somalia within weeks, though currently its troops are continuing searches for weapons in the capital.

However, the nation remains dangerously volatile with remnants of the Islamist militia still at large. Mogadishu is also still awash with weapons.

The latest development came as African Union (AU) officials are in Mogadishu to discuss peacekeeping at the invitation of Somalia's interim government. But regional diplomats say it is unlikely AU members will agree to send peacekeepers unless fighting has halted.

Somalia plunged into lawlessness after the 1991 ousting of Siad Barre. It was then carved up among clan warlords, many of whom have now given their backing to the government.

Source: Xinhua