UN Envoy Suggests Disinformation in Somalia Massacre Story

The highest-ranking U.N. official for Somalia has angrily denounced reports of a civilian massacre by African Union peacekeeping troops in Mogadishu, saying the story is designed to distract attention from positive developments in the country. U.N. Special Representative Ahmedou Ould Abdallh is calling for a moratorium on reports written outside Somalia based on information supplied by local Somali journalists.U.N. Special Representative Ahmedou Ould Abdallh says he does not know the exact details of Monday's incident in Mogadishu. He is in Addis Ababa, where he is accompanying Somalia's new president Sheikh Sharif Sheik Ahmed on his triumphal debut at the African Union summit.But in a VOA interview, he suggested the report of a massacre by AU peacekeepers was contrived. He called it part of a media war to discredit peace efforts in Somalia, and compared it to the radio station Mille Collines, which incited the Rwandan genocide a generation ago...more..http://www.voanews.com/english/2009-02-03-voa53.cfm?rss=africa