U.N. eager to promote peace in Somalia

UNITED NATIONS, Jan. 5 (UPI) -- The United Nations is hopeful Somalia will be ready to establish a long-term peace, and it plans to reinstate international staff members across the country.

Speaking to reporters Friday at U.N. World Headquarters in New York, U.N. Acting Emergency Relief Coordinator Margareta Wahlstrom said the extent of the conflict's toll on Somali civilians is not yet known, but the world body plans to seize this moment of relative calm to promote stability and reconciliation in the war-torn country.

This summer, power in Somalia largely shifted hands from warlords who have ruled the country for more than a decade, to the Union of Islamic Courts, which brought order to the country but also imposed strict religious laws.

On Dec. 24, Ethiopia, which aligned itself with the transitional government and which had warned of a regional conflict, started a bombing campaign that restored power to the transitional government.

Wahlstrom said the Ethiopian bombing assault displaced about 30,000 Somalis -- a relatively small number of people when taken against the hundreds of thousands of Somalis who have fled their homes due to flooding.

The United States, which has voiced concern the Union of Islamic Courts created refuge for al-Qaida in the Somali capital of Mogadishu, has pledged $11 million in aid. The African Union has announced its intentions to deploy peacekeepers to the country once the security situation is stabilized.

Thursday, the new U.N. secretary-general, Ban Ki-moon, issued a statement urging all sides to engage in dialogue.

"The secretary-general calls on all Somali parties and the international community to seize the current moment and do their utmost to end the heavy loss of life, displacement and suffering that have plagued the country," read a statement released by Ban's spokeswoman, Michele Montas.