U.N. Envoy Urges Ceasefire In Somalia

The top U.N. envoy in Somalia urged the U.N. Security Council to call for an immediate ceasefire between Ethiopian forces backing Somalia's weak government and the powerful Islamic militia that controls most of the country, saying talks are the only way to solve the conflict.

Qatar, which holds the council presidency, circulated a draft presidential statement calling for an immediate ceasefire and the immediate withdrawal of all foreign forces, specifying Ethiopian troops.

But other council members — including the United States, Russia, China, Britain, France and African members Ghana and Tanzania — objected to singling out Ethiopia and calling for an immediate withdrawal, saying an urgent resumption of talks between the parties and a political agreement are essential to achieve stability before foreign forces withdraw.

Qatar objected and the council agreed to continue discussions Wednesday afternoon.

Francois Lonseny Fall, the U.N. secretary-general's special representative to Somalia, told an emergency meeting of the council on Tuesday that fighting has expanded across a 400-kilometer (250-mile) wide area, forcing the U.N. to evacuate and halt assistance to two million people in the south and central regions affected by the conflict and recent floods.

According to reports, he said, Ethiopian and government troops are reportedly marching toward the capital, Mogadishu, from at least two directions but are still facing "stiff resistance" from Islamic fighters and their allies in several areas. Civilians have been fleeing the fighting, some seeking clan protection, and 35,000 new Somali refugees have crossed into neighboring Kenya, Fall said.

"Unless a political settlement is reached through negotiations," Fall said, "Somalia, I am afraid, will face a period of deepening conflict and heightened instability, which would be disastrous for the long-suffering people of Somalia, and could also have serious consequences for the entire region."

After Fall's briefing, council members met behind closed doors on Qatar's draft statement, focusing on how to address the issue of foreign forces. Ethiopia remains an especially tricky issue because its troops are there at the invitation of the U.N.-backed Somali government.

In addition to singling out Ethiopia, the draft said the presence of foreign forces constitute "a threat to peace and security and undermines stability without Somalia and in the region."

Acting U.S. Ambassador Alejandro Wolff said the statement should not focus on any country, calling the situation in Somalia very complex with the Council of Islamic Courts "expanding, threatening neighboring countries, abusing human rights."

"Ethiopia has been threatened itself. There are other forces inside the country, Eritrea in particular," Wolff said, although Eritrea denies it has troops in Somalia.

The Security Council "shares the view that this is a situation that has to resolve itself through dialogue by the parties inside Somalia, calling on all sides to refrain from further violence, and particularly to respect humanitarian rights and law," he said.

France's U.N. Ambassador Jean-Marc de La Sabliere said "what is important is to have a cease-fire ... and to have a dialogue resuming."

"It's a war, so the risk of destabilizing the whole region is one concern, and the second one is there is a humanitarian situation which is very bad," he said. "The only solution is a negotiated solution. Everybody has to work for it."

The Security Council has backed the transitional government, and on Dec. 6 it authorized an African force to protect the government's beleaguered leaders in the town of Baidoa against the increasingly powerful Islamic militia — but no country has yet offered troops for that force.

Somalia has not had an effective government since 1991 when warlords overthrew dictator Mohamed Siad Barre and then turned on one another. A government was formed two years ago with the help of the U.N., but it has struggled to assert its authority against the Islamic militants.

Until now, the government has not been able to extend its influence outside Baidoa, where it is headquartered about 225 kilometers (140 miles) northwest of Mogadishu. The country was largely under the control of warlords until June, when the Islamic militia movement seized control of the capital and much of southern Somalia.

Fall told the council that Secretary-General Kofi Annan, who called for an immediate ceasefire and resumption of peace talks on Dec. 22, spoke to Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi and Kenyan President Mwai Kibaki on Tuesday.

"He urged a cessation of hostilities in Somalia and reaffirmed that there is no military solution to the conflict," Fall said. "He also reiterated to the two leaders the need to encourage the Somali parties to resume peace talks without preconditions."

Alpha Oumar Konare, chairman of the African Union Commission, has called for a meeting Wednesday in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, of the 53-nation AU, the Arab League, and the Intergovernmental Authority on Development, the seven-nation East African group that the Security Council on Dec. 6 authorized to deploy troops to protect the Somali government.

Konare and the Arab League have called on the Somali parties to resume talks in the Sudanese capital, Khartoum, without preconditions, and Konare has also appealed for an immediate ceasefire, Fall said. Various preconditions resulted in postponement of the third round of Khartoum talks in October.

Fall concluded his briefing "by urging council members to call on the two sides to halt the fighting immediately and not to take any further provocative actions."

The council must also urge the parties to urgently resume dialogue without preconditions and abide by the Dec. 6 resolution, which also partially lifted an arms embargo on Somalia so the regional force could be supplied with weapons and military equipment and train the government's security forces.