NAIROBI // United Nations peacekeepers were run out of Somalia in 1995. Fourteen years later, the UN might send the blue helmets back in.
The UN Security Council recently discussed establishing a peacekeeping force in Somalia, which has been beset by 18 years of civil war and anarchy. Analysts said a full UN mission is still a long way off, but UN resources may be used to bolster the African Union force in Somalia that is underfunded and frequently besieged.
Somalia could use the support at the moment.
A new government, led by President Sheikh Sharif Ahmed, a moderate Islamist, has been struggling with an Islamic insurgency with links to al Qa'eda. Al Shabab, the insurgent group, has become increasingly emboldened, especially after an audiotaped message from Osama bin Laden last week that was seen as a pep talk.
The Security Council adopted a resolution in December expressing its intention to establish a peacekeeping mission in Somalia and is expected to make a final decision by June 1.
"I note that the council has not yet made a decision to deploy a peacekeeping operation, and that there remains uncertainty about whether peacekeeping is the right tool to support the political process in Somalia," Ban Ki-moon, the secretary general, said last week.
The Security Council agreed to support such African Union peacekeeping missions as those in Somalia and Darfur. Support would include funding, training and logistical support for AU missions.
UN peacekeepers are already stretched thin across Africa. Of the 16 current UN peacekeeping missions, seven are in Africa, including the two biggest; an 18,000-troop mission in Democratic Republic of Congo and a 15,000-troop joint UN-AU mission in Darfur.
At least 22,000 troops would be needed for a force in Somalia, UN estimates show.
The African Union, which has 3,000 troops from Uganda and Burundi in Somalia and is frequently under attack, recently renewed its mandate for three months. Insurgents last week killed one AU peacekeeper and wounded four. Eleven peacekeepers died in attacks last month.
The AU on Friday asked the UN to send peacekeepers to Somalia before its mandate expires.
The Security Council may be reluctant to commit peacekeepers to Somalia because of the country's recent history. Since the country's war began in 1991, foreign peacekeeping missions have had a rocky time in Somalia.
US troops pulled out of Somalia soon after suffering heavy casualties in a 1993 battle in Mogadishu chronicled in the book and film Black Hawk Down. UN peacekeepers left two years later amid deteriorating security.
In 2006, an Islamic group briefly came to power and restored some stability. Ethiopian troops entered Somalia, routed the Islamists and stayed to provide security.
The Islamists launched an insurgency against the Ethiopians and transitional Somali government and eventually drove the Ethiopians out at the beginning of this year.
Analysts say the UN will not send peacekeepers to Somalia until the country is more stable.
"A peacekeeping force where there is no peace to keep is problematic," said Rashid Abdi, a Somalia analyst with International Crisis Group, an independent think tank.
"The solution is a comprehensive peace process which leads to a powerful government. Then there will be a role for peacekeeping. At the moment, we are a long way off from peacekeepers."
A strong UN force could restore order and allow for aid to be delivered more effectively. Currently, three million Somalis are dependent on food aid, which has been increasingly difficult to deliver because of the security situation. Last year, 35 aid workers were killed in Somalia and 26 were abducted.
"It is probably one of the worst humanitarian environments to operate in overall," said Dawn Blalock, a spokeswoman for the UN humanitarian affairs Somalia office. "It is a challenging climate in terms of security."
Ahmedou Ould-Abdallah, the UN special envoy to Somalia, told the Security Council on Friday that the security situation was improving in Somalia pointing to the fact that the president and parliament have recently returned to work in Mogadishu from self-imposed exile in Djibouti.
"Somalia is back from the brink," he said.
But amid the new hope for Somalia, bin Laden released an 11-minute audio tape on Friday that called for al Shabab to overthrow Mr Ahmed, the president.
Mr Ahmed, a former leader of the Islamic movement that controlled Somalia in 2006, has said he will impose Islamic law in Somalia in an effort to reach out to hardline Islamic groups.
In the recording, titled Fight on Champions of Somalia, bin Laden said Mr Ahmed "turned to partner with the infidel. He must be dethroned and fought."
Mr Abdi, the analyst, said the tape shows the international community should pay attention to Somalia so it does not become a haven for terrorists.
"The fact that al Qa'eda's number one person, bin Laden, devotes 11 minutes of his time to Somalia is significant," Mr Abdi said. "We know that al Qa'eda has been sympathetic to the radical al Shabab movement. We shouldn't underestimate al Qa'eda's interest in Somalia."
mbrown@thenational.ae
What is safeguarding?
“Safeguarding, not just in sport, but in all walks of life, is making sure that policies are put in place that make sure your child is safe; when they attend a football club, a tennis club, that there are welfare officers at clubs who are qualified to a standard to make sure your child is safe in that environment,” Derek Bell explains.
COMPANY%20PROFILE%20
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British Grand Prix free practice times in the third and final session at Silverstone on Saturday (top five):
1. Lewis Hamilton (GBR/Mercedes) 1:28.063 (18 laps)
2. Sebastian Vettel (GER/Ferrari) 1:28.095 (14)
3. Valtteri Bottas (FIN/Mercedes) 1:28.137 (20)
4. Kimi Raikkonen (FIN/Ferrari) 1:28.732 (15)
5. Nico Hulkenberg (GER/Renault) 1:29.480 (14)
Game Of Thrones Season Seven: A Bluffers Guide
Want to sound on message about the biggest show on television without actually watching it? Best not to get locked into the labyrinthine tales of revenge and royalty: as Isaac Hempstead Wright put it, all you really need to know from now on is that there’s going to be a huge fight between humans and the armies of undead White Walkers.
The season ended with a dragon captured by the Night King blowing apart the huge wall of ice that separates the human world from its less appealing counterpart. Not that some of the humans in Westeros have been particularly appealing, either.
Anyway, the White Walkers are now free to cause any kind of havoc they wish, and as Liam Cunningham told us: “Westeros may be zombie land after the Night King has finished.” If the various human factions don’t put aside their differences in season 8, we could be looking at The Walking Dead: The Medieval Years.
Fixtures:
Wed Aug 29 – Malaysia v Hong Kong, Nepal v Oman, UAE v Singapore
Thu Aug 30 - UAE v Nepal, Hong Kong v Singapore, Malaysia v Oman
Sat Sep 1 - UAE v Hong Kong, Oman v Singapore, Malaysia v Nepal
Sun Sep 2 – Hong Kong v Oman, Malaysia v UAE, Nepal v Singapore
Tue Sep 4 - Malaysia v Singapore, UAE v Oman, Nepal v Hong Kong
Thu Sep 6 – Final
The specs
Engine: Dual 180kW and 300kW front and rear motors
Power: 480kW
Torque: 850Nm
Transmission: Single-speed automatic
Price: From Dh359,900 ($98,000)
On sale: Now
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The specs
Engine: 2.7-litre 4-cylinder Turbomax
Power: 310hp
Torque: 583Nm
Transmission: 8-speed automatic
Price: From Dh192,500
On sale: Now
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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The bio
Favourite book: Kane and Abel by Jeffrey Archer
Favourite quote: “The world makes way for the man who knows where he is going.” - Ralph Waldo Emerson, American essayist
Favourite Authors: Arab poet Abu At-Tayyib Al-Mutanabbi
Favourite Emirati food: Luqaimat, a deep-fried dough soaked in date syrup
Hobbies: Reading and drawing
Cricket World Cup League 2
UAE squad
Rahul Chopra (captain), Aayan Afzal Khan, Ali Naseer, Aryansh Sharma, Basil Hameed, Dhruv Parashar, Junaid Siddique, Muhammad Farooq, Muhammad Jawadullah, Muhammad Waseem, Omid Rahman, Rahul Bhatia, Tanish Suri, Vishnu Sukumaran, Vriitya Aravind
Fixtures
Friday, November 1 – Oman v UAE
Sunday, November 3 – UAE v Netherlands
Thursday, November 7 – UAE v Oman
Saturday, November 9 – Netherlands v UAE
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: HyperSpace
Started: 2020
Founders: Alexander Heller, Rama Allen and Desi Gonzalez
Based: Dubai, UAE
Sector: Entertainment
Number of staff: 210
Investment raised: $75 million from investors including Galaxy Interactive, Riyadh Season, Sega Ventures and Apis Venture Partners
Thank You for Banking with Us
Director: Laila Abbas
Starring: Yasmine Al Massri, Clara Khoury, Kamel El Basha, Ashraf Barhoum
Rating: 4/5
Europe's top EV producers
- Norway (63% of cars registered in 2021)
- Iceland (33%)
- Netherlands (20%)
- Sweden (19%)
- Austria (14%)
- Germany (14%)
- Denmark (13%)
- Switzerland (13%)
- United Kingdom (12%)
- Luxembourg (10%)
Source: VCOe
FORSPOKEN
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Starfield
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COMPANY PROFILE
Founders: Alhaan Ahmed, Alyina Ahmed and Maximo Tettamanzi
Total funding: Self funded
More from Neighbourhood Watch:
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Almnssa
Started: August 2020
Founder: Areej Selmi
Based: Gaza
Sectors: Internet, e-commerce
Investments: Grants/private funding
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The five pillars of Islam
Family reunited
Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe was born and raised in Tehran and studied English literature before working as a translator in the relief effort for the Japanese International Co-operation Agency in 2003.
She moved to the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies before moving to the World Health Organisation as a communications officer.
She came to the UK in 2007 after securing a scholarship at London Metropolitan University to study a master's in communication management and met her future husband through mutual friends a month later.
The couple were married in August 2009 in Winchester and their daughter was born in June 2014.
She was held in her native country a year later.
Company%20profile
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Singham Again
Director: Rohit Shetty
Stars: Ajay Devgn, Kareena Kapoor Khan, Ranveer Singh, Akshay Kumar, Tiger Shroff, Deepika Padukone
Rating: 3/5
How it works
Booklava works on a subscription model. On signing up you receive a free book as part of a 30-day-trial period, after which you pay US$9.99 (Dh36.70) per month to gain access to a library of books and discounts of up to 30 per cent on selected titles. You can cancel your subscription at any time. For more details go to www.booklava.com
Some of Darwish's last words
"They see their tomorrows slipping out of their reach. And though it seems to them that everything outside this reality is heaven, yet they do not want to go to that heaven. They stay, because they are afflicted with hope." - Mahmoud Darwish, to attendees of the Palestine Festival of Literature, 2008
His life in brief: Born in a village near Galilee, he lived in exile for most of his life and started writing poetry after high school. He was arrested several times by Israel for what were deemed to be inciteful poems. Most of his work focused on the love and yearning for his homeland, and he was regarded the Palestinian poet of resistance. Over the course of his life, he published more than 30 poetry collections and books of prose, with his work translated into more than 20 languages. Many of his poems were set to music by Arab composers, most significantly Marcel Khalife. Darwish died on August 9, 2008 after undergoing heart surgery in the United States. He was later buried in Ramallah where a shrine was erected in his honour.
COMPANY PROFILE
Initial investment: Undisclosed
Investment stage: Series A
Investors: Core42
Current number of staff: 47
RESULT
Bayer Leverkusen 2 Bayern Munich 4
Leverkusen: Alario (9'), Wirtz (89')
Bayern: Coman (27'), Goretzka (42'), Gnabry (45'), Lewandowski (66')
