UN authorizes AU peacekeeping force in Somalia

The United Nations Security Council on Tuesday authorized the African Union (AU) to set up a mission in Somalia to help stabilize the war-ravaged country to achieve national reconciliation and facilitate the delivery of humanitarian aid.

Resolution 1744, drafted by Britain, was adopted unanimously by the 15-member Security Council under Chapter VII of the UN Charter, which allows for enforcement measures.

According to the resolution, the operation, to be known as AMISOM, will support dialogue and reconciliation in Somalia, which has not had a functioning government since warlords overthrew then President Mohamed Siad Barre in 1991.

The operation will help with the free movement, safe passage and protection of all those involved with the process.

In adopting the resolution, the Security Council stressed "the need for broad-based and representative institutions reached through an all-inclusive political process in Somalia, as envisaged in the Transitional Federal Charter, in order to consolidate stability, peace and reconciliation in the country and ensure that international assistance is as effective as possible."

The resolution also urged member states to provide personnel, equipment, services and financial resources for the successful deployment of AMISOM.

The new mission overrides a previous Security Council-authorized operation led by the Intergovernmental Authority on Development, a regional body, which had a more limited mandate.

It will help protect key infrastructure and provide security for transitional bodies to carry out their functions of government.

AMISOM will also help re-establish and train security forces for Somalia, which has been buffeted by conflict and natural disasters.

The resolution asked Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon to send a technical assessment team to Somalia and to AU headquarters in Addis Ababa, capital of Ethiopia, as soon as possible and to provide a report in 60 days on the political and security situation there and "the possibility of a UN peacekeeping operation following the AU's deployment."

The resolution welcomed efforts to pursue an inclusive political process in the country. President Abdullahi Yusuf Ahmed has announced an intention to convene a national reconciliation congress involving all concerned, including political leaders, clan leaders, religious leaders, and representatives of civil society.

Tuesday's resolution came amid reports of mortar strikes in Mogadishu, the Somali capital, which killed 12 people. It was one of the fiercest bombardments there since the Union of the Islamic Courts (UIC) was driven out last month.

A series of near-daily rocket and mortar attacks have challenged the bid of the interim government, led by President Abdullahi Yusuf, to impose security and let Ethiopian troops, who helped it oust the UIC, go home.

Source: Xinhua