AFRICA/SOMALIA - At least 70,000 children recruited to fight civil war in Somalia where the situation is far from stable

Monday, 5 February 2007

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Mogadishu (Agenzia Fides)- The situation is still explosive in Somalia especially in the capital Mogadishu where early this morning 5 February rockets fell into the water in the city port but caused no damage to persons or things.
Over recent days shelling in some districts of the capital killed about ten people and wounded many more. The residents cannot say for certain who is shooting who and this increases the sense of insecurity and undermines the popular consensus for the fragile transition government installed in Mogadishu with the decisive contribution of Somali troops which chased away the militia of the Islamic Courts.
The international community acknowledging the deterioration of security conditions in Somalia has repeatedly called for a stabilising African force to be sent to the martyred country. The most recent appeal came from the UN Security Council last week which said an African Union peacekeeping mission is needed “to obtain the rapid withdrawal of foreign troops from Somalia”, with clear reference to the Ethiopian troops still in the country despite the withdrawal announced by Addis Ababa.
The UN security council intends to send a first technical explorative mission to Somalia to assess how to intervene and the measures necessary to restore peace. The UN security council expressed “deep concern” for the humanitarian situation in the Horn of Africa nation calling in the international community to continue to supply humanitarian aid.
The victims of the civil war in Somalia include at least 70,000 child recruited by force by the various factions, said Qadar Aden, president of the human rights committee of the Somali parliament who quoted UN information. Some humanitarian organisations say the figure is more like 200,000 child soldiers. A member of Somalia’s parliament asked the international community to help reinsert child soldiers in society. The MP was part of the Somali delegation to the Free Children from War conference which opened today in Paris. (L.M.) (Agenzia Fides 5/2/2007 righe 32 parole 387)