UN Calls for Inclusive Government in Somalia, Efforts to Fight Al-Shabaab

UNITED NATIONS (Sputnik) — The UN Security Council called for an inclusive government in Somalia and for greater international efforts to fight the al-Shabaab terrorist group.

"They [the members of the Security Council] encouraged greater efforts from all of Somalia's political leadership, including the President, Prime Minister and Parliament, to work together to establish quickly an inclusive and representative government," the Security Council's press statement said Thursday.

The members of the UN Security Council also underscored their commitment to continue to support all international efforts aimed at ending the threat posed by al-Shabaab and creating a "conducive atmosphere for peace building and sustainable development in Somalia."

The ongoing political crisis in Somalia stems from 1991, when the clan-based opposition groups overthrew the Revolutionary Socialist Party. Since then, the country has been without an effective government, with the internationally-recognized federal authorities controlling only the capital city of Mogadishu and a part of central Somalia. The other areas in the country are self-governing or controlled by unrecognized state formations.

For the past seven years, the Mogadishu government has been under assault by the al-Shabaab Islamist group, which wants to topple the UN-backed government and create an Islamic state on the controlled territories.