Somalia chides nations at UN over slow pace of aid

UNITED NATIONS - Somalia urged the world on Tuesday to support "a nation in dire need of help" and complained of international reticence to help solve what other African countries dubbed a "forgotten crisis."

Somalia's transitional government came to power after ousting militant Islamists with the help of Ethiopian troops at the start of this year. But persistent violence has displaced thousands of people from Mogadishu despite the convening of a peace congress between Somalia's many clans and factions.

"Regrettably, we feel that our major efforts in nation-building and state institutions development were confronted with unreceptive response and reticence of inexplicable nature," Somali Foreign Minister Husein Elabe Fahiye told the U.N. General Assembly.

"Collective action by this world body was less consistent and devoid of vigor, until very recently, to come to the rescue of a nation in dire need of help," he said.

Earlier this year, the African Union agreed to deploy 8,000 troops to replace the government's Ethiopian backers, but so far only about 1,600 Ugandan troops have arrived.

Various African nations have vowed to join the AU force but lack of funds, unrelenting violence in Mogadishu and meager encouragement from rich countries have kept them away.

Last month, Somali leaders meeting in Saudi Arabia said they wanted a force of Arab and African troops under the aegis of the United Nations.

Fahiye called for the United Nations to back the deployment of multinational forces, complaining of "incomprehensible" delays. "If this stand continues, it will only reveal a lack of commitment and indirect acquiescence to prolong the agony of the Somali people," he said.

"BLACK HAWK DOWN" MEMORIES

Outside intervention in Somalia has a dismal history. The killing of U.S. troops there in late 1993 in the "Black Hawk Down" battle marked the beginning of the end for a U.S.-U.N. peacekeeping force that left Somalia in 1995.

African countries have rushed to pledge troops for an expanded peacekeeping mission in Sudan's Darfur region, though pledges to send troops to Somalia remain unfulfilled.

"The problem with Somalia may be less visible today, having been overshadowed by the conflict in Darfur, but the Somali crisis is far from over," Kenyan Foreign Minister Raphael Tuju told the General Assembly on Tuesday.

"Kenya urges the United Nations to assume greater responsibility in Somalia," said Tuju, who is due to brief the U.N. Security Council on Somalia on Wednesday.

"United Nations presence on the ground in Somalia would compliment regional and international efforts to promote peace, stability and reconciliation in Somalia," he said.

The foreign minister of Congo Republic, Basile Ikouebe, also raised Somalia at the General Assembly on Tuesday, saying: "Somalia must not become a forgotten crisis."

In August, the U.N. Security Council authorized the AU force for another six months and asked the secretary-general to develop plans for a possible U.N. troop replacement.

Few expect the United Nations to field a large force rather than just provide financial or technical support to the AU.

Fahiye said this year's national reconciliation conference was a success "despite disruptive intimidations by terrorist elements." But he said the government's efforts would not produce results without international financial support.

He called for an international donor conference to back nation-building efforts and for funds for humanitarian relief.