* 40 nations seek to coordinate action on pirates, militants
* Sceptics suspect it will be another talking shop
* Somali hopes raised by new interest from Turkey, Gulf
By William Maclean
LONDON, Feb 23 (Reuters) - African, Arab and Western nations worried by
Somalia's turmoil meet on Thursday to coordinate efforts against militants
and pirates seen as growing threats to global security and ramp up measures
to end famine and clan violence.
Sceptics say the London conference of 40 countries including U.S. Secretary
of State Hillary Clinton and U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon risks
producing fine words but no action: They point to ineffective similar
gatherings in the past 20 years involving a corrupt Somali elite skilled in
extracting support from Western aid bureaucrats and foreign peacekeepers.
But the British organisers have sought to temper expectations, explaining
that the aim of the event is to galvanise policymakers' attention on Somalia
to better coordinate a sometimes disjointed international response.
It will not delve far into the details of Somalia's clan-based politics,
which play a complex role in everything from business and piracy to the
distribution of humanitarian aid.
Nevertheless, Somalis who have known nothing but war, famine and
blunder-prone international intervention for decades cannot help but hope
for something that will improve their lives.
"The expectations that Somalis have are huge," Mogadishu-based civic
activist Jabril Ibrahim Abdulle of Somalia's Center for Research and
Dialogue think tank told Reuters.
"You have so many external actors driving different agendas that it would be
a success to have a unified stance. Above all we need implementation of
what's agreed, as disappointed hopes will only bring more radicalisation and
hostility."
FEUDING
Somalia collapsed into feuding between rival warlords, clans and factions
after Siad Barre was overthrown in 1991. Up to a million people have since
been killed, according to the International Committee of the Red Cross
(ICRC).
The weak Western-backed interim government, which holds only a few areas, is
fighting a revolt by al Shabaab militants who recently merged with al Qaeda
and harbour dozens of Western volunteers seen as a threat to Western
security.
Moses Wetangula, foreign minister of neighbouring Kenya, told Reuters he
wanted to see "a renewed and reinvigorated international commitment to
Somalia".
"We hope it's not going to be the usual talking shop where we make flowery
speeches and get clapped and go away without caring whether it will be
followed up or not. I hope we will have a commitment to assist the warring
factions in Somalia to instil a sense of peace and working together."
Somalia's Transitional Federal Government (TFG) got a boost on the eve of
the conference when the U.N. Security Council voted to boost by nearly half
an African Union peacekeeping force in Somalia, seeking to press home a
military offensive against al Shabaab.
The resolution increasing the AMISOM force to 17,731 from 12,000 troops and
police passed the council unanimously.
The UK Foreign Office said Thursday's meeting could build on "this good
news, setting out a comprehensive international approach to Somalia covering
politics, development, security, as well as our work to combat terrorism and
piracy."
The force, which first entered Somalia in 2007, has claimed a series of
recent successes against al Shabaab's fighters who had seized much of the
east African country's center and south. Last August, AMISOM wrested control
of the capital, Mogadishu.
SETBACK
In a further setback for the rebels, Ethiopian and Somali forces on
Wednesday captured the stronghold of Baidoa in the south. Ethiopian troops
moved into Somalia in November but will not come under AMISOM and are
expected to withdraw eventually.
Diplomats say a key concern is ensuring the broadest possible support for
Somali constitutional discussions in the run up to the Aug. 20 expiry of the
TFG's mandate, by which time it should have enacted a new basic law and held
an election.
Critics say without elections, the next administration will just be
Somalia's 16th transitional government since 1991.
A senior U.S. official told reporters traveling with Clinton the United
States may slap travel restrictions on Somalis in and out of the TFG, as
well as possibly on citizens of neighbouring nations, who obstruct the
political reforms.
"We would contemplate imposing ... travel restrictions and visa bans on
individuals who serve as spoilers in the political process," said the
official who spoke on condition of anonymity.
Somalia expert Peter Pham of the Atlantic Council said similar conferences
in the past had pretended that "Somalia is still a state when it has long
ceased to be one."
"The only result this has produced is to incentivise the rent-seeking
behaviour and corruption of so-called officials incapable of restoring a
modicum of security and governance ... What is needed is a 'bottom-up'
approach."
For more conference coverage, click on (Additional reporting by Adrian
Croft, Peter Apps, Jonathan Saul, Richard Lough, Patrick Worsnip, Arshad
Mohammed)
* Eve of conference on instability, piracy in Somalia (Adds details, quotes
from U.S. envoy)
By Patrick Worsnip
UNITED NATIONS, Feb 22 (Reuters) - The U.N. Security Council on Wednesday
boosted by nearly one half an African Union peacekeeping force in Somalia in
a bid to intensify a military offensive against Islamist rebels in the Horn
of Africa country.
A resolution increasing the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) force
to 17,731 from 12,000 troops and police passed the council unanimously on
the eve of an international conference in London to discuss measures to
tackle instability in Somalia and piracy off its shores.
AMISOM has until now consisted of Ugandan and Burundian troops. The new
increase to a large extent is accounted for by bringing under its command
Kenyan forces that entered Somalia independently last October to fight the
al Shabaab rebels, blamed by Nairobi for attacks and kidnappings on Kenyan
soil.
Other troops are expected to be brought in from Djibouti, diplomats said, to
bolster AMISOM, which although not a U.N. force receives authorization and
much of its funding from the United Nations.
U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Susan Rice said the increased troops
and financing for AMISOM "could make a decisive difference in weakening
terrorism and bringing peace" to Somalia.
The force, which first entered Somalia in 2007, has claimed a series of
recent successes against al Shabaab's fighters who had seized much of the
east African country's center and south. Last August, AMISOM wrested control
of the capital, Mogadishu.
In a further setback for the rebels, Ethiopian and Somali forces on
Wednesday captured the key stronghold of Baidoa in central Somalia.
Ethiopian troops moved into Somalia in November but will not come under
AMISOM and are expected to withdraw eventually, diplomats said.
Somalia collapsed into feuding between rival warlords, clans and factions
after dictator Siad Barre was overthrown in 1991. Its weak Western-backed
interim government controls only limited areas.
Wednesday's resolution will increase the U.N. cost of supporting AMISOM from
$250 million to around $550 million a year, not counting salaries for the
soldiers, which are covered by the European Union, British Ambassador Mark
Lyall Grant said.
He told reporters it would also give AMISOM a freer hand in its campaign.
"For the first time it authorizes AMISOM to use all necessary means to
reduce the threat from al Shabaab, and therefore to conduct more robust and
offensive operations," said Lyall Grant, whose country sponsored the
resolution.
The resolution also bans the export of charcoal from Somalia, a major source
of funding for al Shabaab.
Rice and envoys from India and South Africa expressed disappointment that
the resolution did not cover a naval element for AMISOM.
"We consider maritime assets valuable in achieving AMISOM's overall security
objectives, and we hope this council will revisit this discussion in the
coming months," Rice said.
But Lyall Grant said fuel for four Kenyan vessels operating off Somalia's
cost would be funded and their crews included in AMISOM, and only "ancillary
costs in terms of wear and tear" would not be covered. (Reporting By Patrick
Worsnip; Editing by Vicki Allen)
C Thomson Reuters 2012 All rights reserved
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Received on Wed Feb 22 2012 - 18:54:31 EST
