Friday February 12, 2021
PHOTO: SUPPLIED/UNSOM/TWITTER
Mogadishu (HOL) - The UN Assistance Mission in Somalia (UNSOM) tweeted on Thursday that the Secretary-General's Special Representative for Somalia, James Swan, held calls this week with the foreign ministers of four east African countries to gauge their opinions on the electoral crisis that has jeopardized the stability of Somalia's fragile government.
"UN envoy James Swan greatly appreciated the opportunity this past week to have calls with the Foreign Ministers of Djibouti, Ethiopia, Kenya and Uganda in order to hear their views at this critical time for Somalia and the region."
The four countries - three of which neighbour Somalia - that Swan spoke to this week are all troop-contributing countries to the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM). They are deployed in six sectors covering south and central Somalia.
In mid-December, Somalia officially cut diplomatic relations with neighbouring Kenya, accusing Nairobi of meddling in its internal affairs and arming militia along their shared border.
The tweet comes barely days after a closed virtual briefing by Swan to the United Nations Security Council.The Security Council released a statement shortly after the briefing calling on Somalia's leaders at the federal and regional level to "urgently" resume dialogue.
"The members of the Security Council called for Somalia's leaders to resume their dialogue urgently and work together, in the interests of the people of Somalia, to reach consensus on the arrangements for the conduct of inclusive elections with a view to holding them as soon as possible," said the UNSC statement on Tuesday.
Although Somalia's federal government announced on Tuesday that it plans to host talks with FMS leaders on February 15, there has been no confirmation on a venue. Villa Somalia tweeted that the convention would be held in Garowe, but Puntland State House quickly pushed back against the announcement and suggested it be held in Mogadishu.