Security Council Calls for End to All Acts of Violence in Somalia

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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Friday, March 29, 2002

Security Council Calls for End to All Acts of Violence in Somalia

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The U.N. Security Council on Thursday called for "an immediate end to all acts of violence in Somalia," and condemned the leaders of those armed factions who continue to be obstacles to peace and stability in Somalia.

In a presidential statement issued at an end of the council meeting, the 15-nation body said that it was deeply concerned about the recent fighting in Mogadishu, the Somali capital, and in the Gedo region.

"The council emphasizes that the efforts for peace in the country should not be held hostage to deliberate acts of violence or other acts aimed at preventing the country from returning to normality and the setting up and rehabilitation of its governing structures," the statement said.

"The Security Council, underlining that the future of Somalia depends, first of all, on the commitment of Somali leaders to end the suffering of their people by negotiating a peaceful end to the conflict, strongly urges all parties to participate constructively and at decision making level in the Reconciliation Conference in Nairobi scheduled for April 2002," said the statement.

The conference was the most serious attempt in years to restore central authority since the northeast African country broke into rival warlord fiefdoms after former dictator Mohammed Siad Barre was overthrown in 1991.

But the new rulers control only part of Mogadishu and small areas elsewhere.

Several militia chiefs have close relations with neighboring Ethiopia and accuse Saudi Arabia, Libya and other Arab nations of funneling arms or money for arms to their opponents. The new government says weapons come from Ethiopia.

The United Nations was heavily involved in Somalia from 1993 to 1995, when it took over from a U.S.-led multinational force to protect relief aid for the famine-stricken country and restore order. But Somalia remained mired in factional fighting and American and Pakistani soldiers were attacked by mobs, suffering gruesome deaths.

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