Somalia: top UN envoy speaks out against killing of AU peacekeepers
23 February 2009 – The top United Nations envoy to Somalia today said he was shocked to hear about an attack against African Union peacekeepers in the capital that claimed the lives of 11 Burundian troops.
Ahmedou Ould-Abdallah, the Secretary-General’s Special Representative, characterized yesterday’s incident as “unpatriotic” and expressed shock to hear of the murder of the peacekeepers who were trying to help the Horn of Africa nation.
The killings of the soldiers with the AU peacekeeping mission in Somalia, known as AMISOM, occurred the day after the Parliament approved the new Cabinet put together by Prime Minister Omar Sharmarke.
“I am sure that this attack was carried out to detract attention from positive developments concerning Somalia,” Mr. Ould-Abdallah said, adding that the new Government seeks to help bring normality back to the people.
Somalia is entering a “time of hope,” with President Sharif Sheikh Ahmed returning to Mogadishu today, he noted. “For Somalis, those who are behind these killings are well-known and are on the losing side.”
There have been several encouraging developments over the past month for Somalia, which has not had a functioning central government since 1991, including the election of the new President in what the UN has hailed as “a fair and open manner” and the creation of an enlarged Parliament.
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