NASSIR Posted September 10, 2005 UN to continue work in Somalia News24.com NAIROBI, 9 Sept. 2005 - Despite the relocation of some international staff from Somalia's temporary seat of government, the United Nations said on Friday it would continue to work in Somalia. "The relocation was due to security concerns, but it is only a temporary measure," said a spokesperson for the United Nations development programme for Somalia. Reports of a troop build-up in Jowhar have raised fears of a standoff. But, Somali parliamentarian Awad Asharah played down the incident. "The 2 000 troops in Jowhar are undergoing training as part of efforts to form a national army," he said. He denied the presence of reported Ethiopian troops in the town. President Abdullahi Yusuf's fledgling government has insisted on operating from Jowhar, about 90km north of Mogadishu, after relocating from the Kenyan capital, Nairobi. Yusuf says Mogadishu is still too unsafe for the installation of a central authority. A powerful faction led by parliamentary speaker Sharif Hassan Sheikh Aden and warlords in Mogadishu are resisting the president's attempts to move the government's location, saying Mogadishu is the only recognised capital. War-battered Somalia has had no central government since the 1992 overthrow of ruler Mohammed Siad Barre, and has been carved up into fiefdoms by warlords. - Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
