UN mulls stronger Somali peacekeeping force

　　The United Nations is considering to dispatch a peacekeeping mission to help stabilize Somalia subject to Security Council approval as part of a three-point plan to return the Horn of Africa nation to normalcy, a senior UN political official said in Nairobi on Friday.

　　Lynn Pascoe, the United Nations Under-Secretary for Political Affairs, said here after a four-hour visit to Somalia that more troops were urgently required to help stabilize the war-scarred Horn of Africa nation while pressing on with reconciliation efforts.

　　"It's a fact that more troops are needed to help stabilize Somalia which has without a central government for more than 16 years," Pascoe told journalists in Nairobi.

　　The UN is pushing for the implementation of a three-phased plan, targeting reconciliation, security reinforcement and the continuation of the humanitarian efforts.

　　Pascoe, who met Somali President Abdullahi Yusuf, Prime Minister Ali Gedi and the entire cabinet in Mogadishu as part of his Horn of Africa political mission, said Somalia stood its best chance for reconciliation and political breakthrough.

　　"Clearly, there is a possibility of moving to a different era for Somalia. We are looking to see whether there can be more AMISOM, African Union Peacekeeping Mission in Somalia," Pascoe told a news conference in Nairobi.

　　He said there is need for more AMISOM troops in Somalia as soon as possible, but this would depend on the additional funding coming from the European Union and other financiers to aid the AU peacekeeping mission in Somalia.

　　The UN, he said, would consider the political direction that Somalia is taking while considering the need for intense reconciliation efforts in the horn of Africa country.

　　"There is first the issue of political direction and where the reconciliation currently stands," Pascoe said.

　　The UN's top political officer said there was need to ensure that increased security in Somalia will not extend to arbitrary violation of human rights, adding that arbitrary arrests should be avoided as soon as possible.

　　Reconciliation efforts in Somalia, he said, are much more positive and encouraging despite the recent violent attacks targeting Prime Minister Gedi.

　　"There is hope that we can get the Somali peace and reconciliation process going, there is interest and chances for success," Pascoe said. "The issue is whether we can help move it forward to the political side."

　　Pascoe said he would meet Eritrean President Isayias Aforweki in Asmara on Saturday before meeting Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi and African Union (AU) Commission Chairperson Alfa Konare on ways and means of having more AU troops in Somalia.

　　Pascoe plans to brief the Security Council on his visit to the region upon his return to New York and recommend the possible deployment of a UN peacekeeping mission in Somalia.

　　Pascoe's visit came as the Ethiopian forces together with the Somali police forces continue joint disarmament operations in the capital for the third day.

　　His visit also comes barely a week after Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi met the transitional government officials in Mogadishu.