Members of Somalia’s hardline Islamist rebel group, al Shabaab, marching with weapons during a graduation ceremony in Mogadishu. Inset, Somalia President Sheikh Sharif Ahmed. REUTERS
By STEVE MBOGO (email the author)
“There exist operational limitations to the performance of AMISOM in the areas of maritime and air defence capabilities,” said the AU in a statement..Restabilising Somalia has been a challenge for the region and is now emerging as a global focal point especially because of growing instability in neighbouring Yemen, both of which are in the Arabian Peninsula and which have insurgents driven by similar ideologies.Conciliation Resources
A group known as Conciliation Resources which works on peace building and conflict resolution initiatives recommended that international action would be more effective if the world responded to the war in Somalia as an elite and clan-based conflict over power, territory and resources; a regional struggle for supremacy between Ethiopia and Eritrea and a jihadist insurgency.“Stable areas of governance in Somalia such as Somaliland and Puntland show that Somalis can achieve durable political structures when these are built on genuine reconciliation,” the group said.It said international mediators have been slow to recognize the significance of Islam and of engaging with religious leaders in Somalia.Somalia’s TFG’s mandate expires in October 2011, by which time a new government will be put in place through elections.It remains to be seem if those elections will be held in a peaceful, stable Somalia with a central government.
No comments:
Post a Comment