The two-month-old Somali government has taken steps to meet benchmarks that would allow the deployment of a UN peacekeeping operation in the troubled land known more for piracy than development, dpa quoted a Somali official as saying today. Foreign Minister Mohamad Abdullahi Omaar told the UN Security Council in an open session that President Shiekh Shariff Shiekh Ahmed, elected on January 30, has taken security measures and steps to mobilize support for the peace process. "Today in Somalia, there are no warlords, there are no clan wars, there no political factions holding the country hostage," Omaar said. The Somali foreign minister called on Uganda and Burundi to send three additional battalions of troops to Somalia urgently, backed by improved equipment, logistics and medical facilities. Omaar urged the 15-nation council to deploy the peaceekeping mission as his government met a "significant" number of benchmarks demanded for such a deployment. The UN special envoy for Somalia, Ahmedou Ould-Abdallah, said the UN should launch a 100-day assistance programme in the country to help "Somalis reclaim the future of their country."
