A leading US Democratic senator warned President Barack Obama Monday not to neglect Somalia after the latest piracy incident off the country's coast and a mortar attack on a US lawmaker.
"For years, Somalia's growing instability was neglected by the Bush administration and the international community. The new administration must not make the same mistake," Democratic Senator Russell Feingold said.
"We must commit to a comprehensive strategy that helps stabilize the country while also establishing effective governance and the rule of law," said Feingold, who leads the Senate Foreign Relations' African affairs subcommittee.
"If we don?t, we will continue to see Somalia's historic instability manifest itself in piracy and growing extremism, both of which pose serious security threats in the region and around the globe," he said.
Feingold, who reprsents Wisconsin, said he was "elated by the safe rescue" of a US captain in a dramatic operation that saw naval snipers kill his captors after a five-day standoff and "relieved" that Democratic Representative Donald Payne was unharmed after a mortar attack at Mogadishu airport.
Payne, a member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, arrived in Mogadishu hours earlier for talks with President Sharif Sheikh Ahmed and his prime minister on rampant piracy off the country's coast.
A Somali pirate chief earlier Monday threatened to target Americans in revenge for the rescue of Captain Richard Phillips of the Maersk Alabama cargo ship.
Phillips was in good condition after being held hostage for five days in the lifeboat from the Maersk Alabama, whose American crew had fought off the pirates' attempt to capture it on Wednesday.
"While the episode involving the crew of the Maersk Alabama had a happy ending, piracy off the coast of Somalia will assuredly continue since it is a symptom of the state collapse in Somalia, which presents a much greater and more dangerous problem," said Feingold.
Source: AFP
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