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Annan urges Somali parties to redouble peace efforts, notes rise of Islamic Courts

Annan urges Somali parties to redouble peace efforts, notes rise of Islamic Courts

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Highlighting the recent failed assassination attempt on Somalia’s President, United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan today called on all sides in the strife-torn country to redouble their efforts for peace, adding that the increasing influence of the Islamic Courts was threatening the transitional authorities but only dialogue could end the crisis.

“I condemn the assassination attempt on President Abdullahi Yusuf Ahmed in Baidoa on 18 September 2006. That unacceptable incident underscored the precariousness of the situation in Somalia and the importance of restoring peace and stability throughout the country,” Mr. Annan says in his latest report to the Security Council.

“I reiterate my call on the Somali parties to redouble their efforts to reach a sustainable peace, which is essential for the restoration of the rule of law, the protection of human rights and the realization of a healthy democratic order for the benefit of all the people of Somalia, he adds.

“The rapid expansion of the influence of the Islamic Courts has posed a serious threat to the transitional federal institutions, which already faced difficulties in extending their authority beyond Baidoa, the interim seat of the Transitional Federal Parliament,” he notes in the report that covers the past four months.

Despite the problems, Mr. Annan says there has been some progress, namely the discussions between the federal institutions and the Supreme Council of the Islamic Courts, facilitated by the League of Arab States. He urges that these continue and also calls for neighbouring countries and the rest of the international community to play their part in helping restore stability to the Horn of Africa country.

“The sustained support of the international community, speaking with one voice, is crucial to avert a greater crisis in Somalia and the wider region, and to encourage the Somali parties to overcome their differences through inclusive dialogue,” he says.

“I also appeal to all the neighbouring countries to respect the United Nations arms embargo on Somalia, and I reiterate my call for them to exercise maximum restraint in order not to jeopardize the ongoing peace efforts or fuel regional instability.”

The Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Somalia, Francois Lonsény Fall, will be in New York next week to brief the Security Council, a UN spokesman told reporters today.

Somalia has been riven by factional fighting and has not had a functioning national government since President Muhammad Siad Barre’s regime was toppled in 1991.