Somalia PM: More international support needed for peace
In Somalia, a one-time warlord has survived an assassination attempt by a suicide
bomber in the central Somali town of Galkayo. One bodyguard was killed. No group
immediately claimed the responsibility for the assassination attempt, but similar
attacks have been carried out by the al-Qaida-linked al-Shabab militant group.
The
Prime Minister of the Somali Transitional Government, Abdiweli Mohamed Ali, is in
Rome in an effort to gain more international support for his government.
“In
the long term, we can rely only on ourselves,” Ali said. “A robust Somali national
army will ultimately take responsibility and the challenge of securing the country,
but in the immediate term we need more support, more troops, and more enablers to
entrench peace in Somalia.”
He told Vatican Radio he is thankful that United
Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon have moved offices of UN agencies from Kenya
to the Somali capital, Mogadishu.
“If you are working for Somalia…there is
not point of all these UN agencies being in Nairobi,” he said. “Now the capital is
becoming safe, and also other parts of the country are secure and safe, so therefore
we welcome the opportunity of all these NGO’s and UN agencies and organizations moving
into Somalia.”
Listen to the full interview by Davide Maggiore with
Prime Minister Abdiweli Mohamed Ali: