International donors meet in Brussels on Thursday to pledge funds to boost security in Somalia and discuss ways of tackling pirate attacks on foreign vessels by gangs operating there.
Organizers of the meeting, to be chaired by U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon and the African Union, say more than $250 million is needed for next year to improve security in a state which has functioned without a central government since 1991 and is mired in conflict.
Also attending will be Somali President Sheikh Sharif, a former Islamist rebel leader elected in January at U.N.-brokered talks and widely seen as the best hope for restoring stability.
The U.N. Special Representative for Somalia Ahmedou Ould-Abdallah told Reuters this week he hoped the meeting, involving dozens of countries and big international organizations, could agree on a 100-day plan to help Somalia build up its security forces and restore stability.
Somali gangs have made millions of dollars seizing vessels in the Gulf of Aden and Indian Ocean, driving up insurance rates and other costs in the key sea lanes linking Europe to Asia.
The attacks have worsened, despite the presence of naval forces from more than a dozen states, including task forces under NATO, EU and U.S. command.
NATO's four-ship mission is due to wind up its operation on Thursday. Diplomats are discussing if it can be extended.
A NATO spokesman said alliance Secretary-General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer was also pressing for a longer-term mission and tougher rules to allow the detention of captured suspects.
BATTLE WILL NOT BE WON AT SEA
However, achieving stability in Somalia is generally seen as the only way of finding a long-term solution to defeat piracy on the seas.
On Wednesday, the European Union pledged at least 60 million euros ($77.54 million) to support Somalian security forces and African Union peacekeepers and called on others to "dig deep."
The United States, to be represented by acting Assistant Secretary of State Phillip Carter, is reviewing its Somalia policy and plans to help build Somali security forces and bolster the new government.
But Carter says Washington had learned from its mistakes in the 1990s, when a peacekeeping mission ended in shambles and a U.S. withdrawal, and had no desire to "drive" the whole process.
Somalian President Ahmed cautioned on Wednesday against any U.S. strike on pirate bases -- something a senior U.S. defense official has said is unlikely.
Conference organisers had said at least $165 million was needed from donors, but African Union Special Representative for Somalia Nicolas Bwakira said after preparatory meetings on Wednesday the figure had been raised to $250 million.
The funds would go to train Somalian security forces and to AU peacekeepers and more funds would be needed for equipment.
"The risk is very serious," he told a news briefing. "There is the possibility of losing what has been achieved so far."
EU officials said the aim was to build up a police force of some 10,000 personnel and a security force of 5,000, from 3,000 and 2,000 respectively now, they said.
(Additional reporting by Bate Felix; Editing by Richard Balmforth)
Source: Reuters
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