Italy urges withdrawal of Ethiopian troops from Somalia

May 22, 2007 (MOGADISHU) — Italy has urged the withdrawal of the Ethiopian troops from Somalia in order to pave the way for the deployment of the African peacekeepers in the country.

Italian Deputy Foreign Minister Patrizia Sentinelli, who recently visited the Somali capital, Mogadishu said Italy had called upon Ethiopia to immediately pull out its troops from Somalia to the completion of African Union peacekeepers’ deployment.

Sentinelli visited Mogadishu two days ago and held close door talks with senior Somali leaders.

When asked whether Ethiopia had responded to the call to pull out its troops, she said the call was a clear message with the important issue of Ethiopian troops withdrawal from Somalia in order to pave way for the African Union peacekeeping mission. She further said Italy would contribute to funding the AU mission.

Furthermore, the Italian official expressed doubts over the credibility of the Somali Transitional Federal Government, describing it as not all inclusive.

She said that she believes the Somali government is not capable of performing its duties and the reason is that it is not an all inclusive government and does not represent all factions existing in Somalia.

Mrs Sentinelli expressed hope that the Somali government would take bold steps towards good governance in Somalia. “It is not possible to consider the Somali government as an all inclusive government because it has not adhered to the charter of the country and has violated it,” said Mrs Sentinelli.

She criticized the government for not including factions and various groups in Somalia. The deputy minister urged the Somali government to take immediate action aimed at correcting all these mistakes and dealing with existing issues.

(ST)