Somalia requires an international response on par with the interventions in Iraq and Afghanistan, the U.N. special envoy told delegates in Madrid.
Somalia hasn't had a functioning government in more than a decade and the mandate for the transitional government expires in August. Militants led by al-Qaida affiliates with al-Shabaab, meanwhile, continue to attack government interests and members of the African Union peacekeeping force deployed there.
Augustine Mahiga, the U.N. special envoy to Somalia, addressed international delegates with the International Contact Group for Somalia, saying global intervention was needed in the war-torn Horn of Africa nation.
"We have all seen how the international community has rallied behind the governments in Iraq and Afghanistan," he was quoted by the United Nations' news agency as saying. "Somalia is no exception. It requires similar massive interventions."
Mahiga added that for a global intervention to be successful, Mogadishu needed to have a stable government to support.
"We will not achieve minimum stability in the country unless we make substantive progress on the political front," he said.
Omar Abdirashid Sharmarke announced last week he was stepping down as prime minister because of political differences and instability in the beleaguered country.
Source: UPI
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