ADDIS ABABA, 24 October 2004 — Somalia’s newly-elected president, Abdullahi Yusuf, has asked the African Union to send 20,000 peacekeepers to disarm militias controlling his lawless Horn of Africa country, an AU spokesman said yesterday.
“The president has formally asked the AU for a 20,000-strong peacekeeping force to help in collecting millions of small arms known to be owned by the Somali people,” AU spokesman Adam Thiam told reporters.
He said the request would be considered by the AU’s Peace and Security Council which is due to meet tomorrow.
Yusuf made the request to AU Chairman Alpha Oumar Konare during a meeting with top AU officials yesterday here.
“He estimates that there are around 15 million small arms in the streets of Somalia,” Thiam said.
The pan-Africa body’s spokesman did not estimate the cost of sending the force to Somalia.
During his swearing in, Yusuf urged the international community to help his nascent administration disarm the hundreds of gunmen allied to various clan-related factions across the country.
Yusuf was elected as Somalia’s president after almost two years of stop-start talks held in neighboring Kenya because of insecurity at home. He made an appeal for international peacekeepers at his swearing in ceremony last week.
EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana, also on a visit to AU headquarters in Addis Ababa, said the European Union would consider helping to train Somali security forces.
“We would like to participate in the stabilization of the country,” Solana told reporters here.
“The EU will be ready to help Somalia once the different organs of government are in place and the government submits a formal request for assistance,” Solana said. “Peace in Somalia is fundamental for African and world stability,” he added.
“In terms of security, African countries are keen ... and the bulk of this responsibility will be on the African countries. The EU would be ready to support these efforts,” Solana said, referring to AU efforts to restore stability in Africa.
On Friday, British Minister for Africa Chris Mullin said his country had offered to help train security forces in Somalia to disarm gunmen in the capital.
Diplomats say Yusuf risks leading a government in exile if he is unable to return quickly to Mogadishu and that the legitimacy of his government hinges on gaining control of the anarchic country.
