The UN Security Council welcomed on Thursday a recent peace and reconciliation agreement signed by Somalia's warring parties and reiterated its willingness to consider sending peacekeepers to the troubled Horn of Africa nation.
In a non-binding presidential statement, the 15-member body said the so-called Djibouti Agreement between the Transitional Federal Government (TFG) and the Alliance for the Re-Liberation of Somalia (ARS) signed on Aug. 19, "should provide the basis for lasting peace, security and stability for the people of Somalia."
It reaffirmed its willingness to "consider, at an appropriate time, a United Nations peacekeeping operation" to take over from the African Union mission to Somalia, known as AMISOM.
But the deployment of UN peacekeepers will be "subject to progress in the political process and improvement in the security situation on the ground," the council said.
The council asked UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon to elaborate on his contingency planning for a UN integrated peacekeeping mission in Somalia, including its mandate, size and geographical scope, as well as the countries that might contribute the necessary personnel, equipment or financing for such a mission.
Source:Xinhua
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