ID :
23400
Thu, 10/09/2008 - 11:59
Auther :
Shortlink :
http://m.oananews.org//node/23400
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Join hands against pirates along Somalian coast: U.N.
Dharam Shourie
United Nations, Oct 8 (PTI) With the increasing threat of pirates along Somalia's coastal waters hindering food supply to the 3 million people of the country, the U.N. has asked member nations operating off the Somali coast to join hands to use "the necessary means" against the acts of piracy.
"We need to set to work on a plan for deploying a
viable multinational force to help secure a peace, or at the
very least sustain its people," U.N. Security General Ban
Ki-moon said.
At present, the Dutch, French, Danish and Canadian
navies escort U.N. World Food Programme (W.F.P.) ships safely
into the Somalian ports, but Canada's duty ends on October 23.
"As yet, no nation has volunteered to take Canada's
place. Without escorts, those ships will not arrive. Without
that aid, more people will die," Security General said.
Nearly 90 percent of the food that feeds 3 million
people in Somalia arrives from the sea aboard W.F.P. ships.
In a resolution adopted unanimously, the Council
called on States with naval vessels and military aircraft
operating off the Somali coast to use "the necessary means"
against the acts of piracy.
In its resolution, the Council, citing reports that as
many as 3.5 million Somalis will depend on food aid by the end
of the year, said, W.F.P.'s maritime contractors will not be
able to deliver the aid without naval warship escorts.
The 15-member body called on states to actively take
part in the fight against piracy, "in particular by deploying
naval vessels and military aircraft," to protect the vital
W.F.P. lifeline for the affected populations.
The piracy crisis took on added significance last
month when a Ukrainian cargo ship laden with tanks,
rocket-propelled grenades and ammunition was seized and Ban
said he would discuss the matter with European Union (E.U.)
officials when he visits Geneva later this month.
"I urge them (the E.U. and other nations) to bear in
mind the October 23 deadline as they consider longer-term
solutions to the challenge of piracy on the Horn of Africa,"
he added.
Noting that the political future of Somalia, which has
been plagued by protracted war and humanitarian suffering
since its last functioning national government was toppled in
1991, Ban said that the country was again uncertain with
fierce fighting between Islamist insurgents and transitional
government forces backed by the Ethiopian military.
Meanwhile, the U.N. temporarily relocated some of its
staff from Marka in south-eastern Somalia after an explosion
hit a U.N. rented vehicle, killing the driver and wounding two
U.N. personnel, an Italian and a Somali, last night.
Meanwhile, torrential rains and strong winds have hit
a string of settlements between Mogadishu, the Somalian
capital, and Afgooye, which house hundreds of thousands of
people uprooted by the fighting, destroying makeshift shelters
and leaving many homeless once again.
Ten hours of overnight rain on Sunday, flooded many
shelters, forcing many people to return to their homes in
war-torn Mogadishu, the world body said.
The flooding has worsened an "already dramatic"
situation, with over one million people displaced. Some
700,000 people fled Mogadishu last year alone, and since the
beginning of 2008, the U.N. says, another 170,000 have been
uprooted, including over 35,000 in recent weeks. PTI DS
PMR
United Nations, Oct 8 (PTI) With the increasing threat of pirates along Somalia's coastal waters hindering food supply to the 3 million people of the country, the U.N. has asked member nations operating off the Somali coast to join hands to use "the necessary means" against the acts of piracy.
"We need to set to work on a plan for deploying a
viable multinational force to help secure a peace, or at the
very least sustain its people," U.N. Security General Ban
Ki-moon said.
At present, the Dutch, French, Danish and Canadian
navies escort U.N. World Food Programme (W.F.P.) ships safely
into the Somalian ports, but Canada's duty ends on October 23.
"As yet, no nation has volunteered to take Canada's
place. Without escorts, those ships will not arrive. Without
that aid, more people will die," Security General said.
Nearly 90 percent of the food that feeds 3 million
people in Somalia arrives from the sea aboard W.F.P. ships.
In a resolution adopted unanimously, the Council
called on States with naval vessels and military aircraft
operating off the Somali coast to use "the necessary means"
against the acts of piracy.
In its resolution, the Council, citing reports that as
many as 3.5 million Somalis will depend on food aid by the end
of the year, said, W.F.P.'s maritime contractors will not be
able to deliver the aid without naval warship escorts.
The 15-member body called on states to actively take
part in the fight against piracy, "in particular by deploying
naval vessels and military aircraft," to protect the vital
W.F.P. lifeline for the affected populations.
The piracy crisis took on added significance last
month when a Ukrainian cargo ship laden with tanks,
rocket-propelled grenades and ammunition was seized and Ban
said he would discuss the matter with European Union (E.U.)
officials when he visits Geneva later this month.
"I urge them (the E.U. and other nations) to bear in
mind the October 23 deadline as they consider longer-term
solutions to the challenge of piracy on the Horn of Africa,"
he added.
Noting that the political future of Somalia, which has
been plagued by protracted war and humanitarian suffering
since its last functioning national government was toppled in
1991, Ban said that the country was again uncertain with
fierce fighting between Islamist insurgents and transitional
government forces backed by the Ethiopian military.
Meanwhile, the U.N. temporarily relocated some of its
staff from Marka in south-eastern Somalia after an explosion
hit a U.N. rented vehicle, killing the driver and wounding two
U.N. personnel, an Italian and a Somali, last night.
Meanwhile, torrential rains and strong winds have hit
a string of settlements between Mogadishu, the Somalian
capital, and Afgooye, which house hundreds of thousands of
people uprooted by the fighting, destroying makeshift shelters
and leaving many homeless once again.
Ten hours of overnight rain on Sunday, flooded many
shelters, forcing many people to return to their homes in
war-torn Mogadishu, the world body said.
The flooding has worsened an "already dramatic"
situation, with over one million people displaced. Some
700,000 people fled Mogadishu last year alone, and since the
beginning of 2008, the U.N. says, another 170,000 have been
uprooted, including over 35,000 in recent weeks. PTI DS
PMR
