CAIRO, 15 June 2006 — The Arab League yesterday called for an end of support to Somali warlords and urged all to back the transitional government, as Islamic militias tighten their grip in much of the lawless country. “The situation in Somalia requires immediate end of support to the so-called warlords,” Arab League Secretary-General Amr Moussa told reporters. Continued support for the warlords, Moussa warned, will “return us to square one. The situation necessitates support for the legitimate Somali government and help to achieve security and stability in Somalia,” he added.
Moussa’s comment came as the Islamic militia yesterday captured the town of Jowhar, last stronghold of what is widely believed to be a US-backed warlord alliance. The militias vowed to establish Shariah courts, cementing their victory after more than four months of fighting which has left some 350 people dead and upwards of 2,000 wounded, many of them civilians.
The League also voiced displeasure at not being invited to join a US-sponsored international “contact group” on Somalia. The group was expected to meet in New York today to discuss ways of propping up the transitional government. “The Arab League hopes the US administration reviews the contact group to include the most important international and regional players on the Somali issue, including the Arab League,” its top Horn of Africa official, Samir Hosni, told AFP.
The Arab League also said that Iran had the right to develop nuclear energy for peaceful purposes, as laid down in the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty. “We support Iran’s position on the peaceful use of atomic energy because this right is enshrined in the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty,” Moussa said. “This right exists for all Arab and non-Arab countries which have signed the NPT and wish to achieve progress,” Moussa added. But he stressed the region was not in need of a military nuclear program. “This applies to Iran and Israel and others,” Moussa said.
Moussa expressed his concern over the flare-up in violence between rival Palestinian factions, and called for unity. “The Arab League is disturbed by the continued violence between the Palestinian factions,” a statement quoted Moussa as telling Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas and Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh in phone conversations.
The past week has seen unprecedented factional fighting between supporters of Haniyeh’s Islamist movement Hamas and Abbas’ Fatah in the Gaza Strip and West Bank, which has resulted in deadly clashes and seen government buildings torched. “These skirmishes will deal a serious blow to the Palestinian position and to the rights and hope of the Palestinian people,” Moussa said, warning that such incidents “could only lead to chaos in the Palestinian street.”
