Doggie Style

U.N. Backs Deployment of Troops to Somalia

The U.N. Security Council said it backs the speedy deployment of African troops to Somalia and strongly urges a dialogue among all political players, in addition to the delivery of humanitarian aid to the country.

They favor speedy deployment of IGASOM," a new force to be set up by the African Union and a seven-nation regional group.

The rout of the Islamic movement that controlled most of Somalia for the past six months by Somali government troops and Ethiopian soldiers has allowed the country's weak U.N.-backed transitional government to enter the capital, Mogadishu, for the first time since it was established in 2004.

But U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has expressed concern that U.S. airstrikes in southern Somalia _ which Washington said was aimed at fleeing al-Qaida terrorists _ could escalate hostilities and harm civilians. Some civilian casualties have been reported.

On Dec. 6, the Security Council authorized an African force to protect the transitional government against the Islamic Courts. The council also authorized the force to train Somali government troops, and lifted a U.N. arms embargo for the African troops.

IGASOM : The plan seems to envision deploying thousands of troops from regional countries across Somalia costing US$335 million for the first year, and seems predicated on the belief that international donors will fund it. Interestingly, IGASOM military planners also seem to assume that the mission will be deployed in a consensual environment.

--- The UN position is being driven by the US & Pals, manipulating/enabling Ethiopia and other regional powers, to install a client regime in Somalia, to create an ideal environment for Business in the oil-rich Horn of Africa. Or, while "expressing concern" and arming for "peace" the UN bends over for Business (see previous post).