UNITED NATIONS, October 14 (RIA Novosti) -The al-Shabaab jihadist militant group in Somalia has recently suffered significant losses, UN Special representative for Somalia, Nicholas Kay said on Tuesday.
"I am pleased to report that al-Shabaab has suffered significant reverses and the political process has moved forward," Key told the UN Security Council via video link from Mogadishu.
The UN envoy congratulated the African Union mission AMISOM and the Somali National Army for their progress in Operation Indian Ocean – a joint military operation against the al-Shabaab militant group launched mid-August - adding that these advances have weakened al-Shabaab "operationally and financially."
However, according to Kay military action alone will not eradicate the terrorist threat in Somalia. "Military gains need to be consolidated through stabilization," he added.
One focus, Kay said, is to provide services and security into areas that al-Shabaab has been driven from. Kay told the Security Council that "there has been progress in establishing local administrations and the deployment of Somali Police Force officers in some newly recovered areas."
Kay added that the humanitarian situation in Somalia remains dire. "Over three million people need humanitarian or livelihood assistance in Somalia today. This includes over one million who cannot feed themselves, an increase of 20 percent in six months," he explained.
Looking to a donors' conference later this year, Kay said that the Copenhagen High Level Partnership Forum on Somalia scheduled for November 19 and 20 "will be an important moment to take stock of progress toward the goals of the Somali Compact." He added that is important that the sub-federal administrations are given a role in the conference.
The Somali Republic ceased to exist as a single state in 1991 following the fall of Siad Barre's dictatorial regime. The federal government, which controls the capital of Mogadishu and a number of suburban areas, is the only legitimate authority in the country recognized by the international community.
The rest of Somalia is under the control of unrecognized state entities and are self-governed territories. Some areas in the southern and north-western parts of Somalia are governed by local clans and radical Islamic movements, including the militant group al-Shabaab linked with the international terrorist organization al-Qaeda.
