IGAD pledges Somalia to dispatch additional 2,000 peacekeepers
By Tesfa-Alem Tekle
July 5 ,2010 (ADDIS ABABA) – Leaders of the east African regional grouping IGAD, who gathered in the Ethiopian capital, Addis Ababa, on Monday decided an additional deployment of 2,000 peacekeeping forces to the fragile Somalia nation.
In the Extraordinary IGAD Summit, Leaders from Ethiopia, Sudan, Kenya, Uganda, Djibouti and Somalia today held their summit in a closed-door to advise lasting solution to the continuing political instability in Somalia.
“IGAD regrets that the approval level of AMISOM troops has not been achieved thus far, and decides to dispatch 2,000 troops to be deployed throughout the country. In this regard, the summit embraces the need to mobilize Somali forces internally with possible intervention by neighbouring countries including the East African Communality (EAC) and empower with resources and equipment,” said the IGAD communiqué issued at the end of the summit.
The 2000 additional peace keepers will join the already deployed Ugandan and Burundian forces that are under constant attack from hard-line islamist groups, which are in control of mainly southern Somalia.
Speaking at the emergency Summit, the Somali leader, Sheikh Sharif Ahmed urged IGAD leaders to prepare for a ‘radical and urgent strategy to bring lasting solution.
“Somalia has witnessed dangerous attacks in its history perpetrated by one dangerous terrorist coalition under the umbrella of the Al Qaeda,’ the Somali leader told the summit.
He outlined a four-point-plan solution, which include increased financing for the Transitional Federal Government (TFG), the training of local armed forces and the civilian police as well as an overall strategy to defeat the radical group Al Shabab.
The East African state leaders called upon the AU to urgently move the civilian and police components of AMISOM to Mogadishu.
In the previous summit, the IGAD leaders called on the UN to take over the 6,100 strong African union peace keeping force (AMISOM).
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murlescrewed
IGAD pledges Somalia to dispatch additional 2,000 peacekeepers
Somalia is a lost cause. The only way to save it is to let Islamists take over the gov’t and run it the way the want. It is highly unlikely that they will support terrorist because they know that doing so would invite problems.