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UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs

SOMALIA: UN urges Somalis to respect peace commitments

NAIROBI, 7 January 2003 (IRIN) - With the renewal of hostilities in parts of Somalia, Maxwell Gaylard, the UN Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator for Somalia, has called on all parties to the Eldoret peace declaration to respect their commitments.

In a press release issued on Tuesday, Gaylard noted that despite commitments made by the Somali leaders to cease hostilities, violence and armed conflict in some parts of the country had escalated since the signing of the agreement.

During this period, Somalis had witnessed either the resumption or continuation of fighting in the capital, Mogadishu, the towns of Las Anod in the northeast and Baidoa in the southwest, and in the Bari, Bay, Bakol, Gedo and Lower Shabelle regions, said the press release. It noted that Gaylard had been particularly saddened by the killing of at least six schoolchildren in an attack on a school bus in Mogadishu last month.

"It is a matter of deep concern that despite the promising commitments made in October, we have seen such an escalation in violence," Gaylard said. "The humanitarian community stands ready to support peace and reconciliation, but without meaningful guarantees of safe and unhindered access, we cannot effectively deliver aid to those who need it most. This is now the case in many parts of the country."

The Somali groups meeting in the western Kenyan town of Eldoret agreed on 27 October to suspend all hostilities for the duration of the Somali national reconciliation conference, and signed a declaration to that effect.

The UN and the international community were still waiting for all Somali leaders to honour these commitments, the press release noted.

Themes: (IRIN) Conflict

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