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| Last Updated: Apr 3, 2012 - 2:47:55 AM |
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US considering sanctions on Somalia 'spoilers'
22 Feb 22, 2012 - 7:43:05 PM
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LONDON
— The US is mulling the possibility of imposing sanctions on "spoilers"
blocking political progress in Somalia, a US official said Wednesday on
the eve of a London conference to address the country's troubles.
"We would contemplate imposing both travel restrictions and visa bans
on individuals who serve as spoilers in the political process," the
senior US State Department official told reporters under the cover of
anonymity.
These sanctions could involve officials within the Somali transitional government (TFG), he added.
"We are saying very clearly that individuals who undermine political
progress" towards the implementation of basic structures intended to
replace the TFG by August "should be held accountable," he stressed.
"We have indicated (this) in various discussions with TFG officials and also with other Western partners," he added.
Another US official said sanctions are likely to be discussed at the London conference, which kicks off on Thursday.
The US official called the summit: "One of the largest and most
important international conference held on Somalia in recent years.
"Our objectives are to underscore and maintain high level
international attention on Somalia's multiple problems; Piracy, counter
terrorism, humanitarian responses and issues related to state failure,"
he explained.
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, the US representative at the
talks, arrived in London late Wednesday, an AFP journalist reported.
Somalia has had no central authority since the collapse of President Siad Barre's regime in 1991.
"What we want to see is for the political process to match the
security progress we've seen on the ground," said the official,
highlighting the military setbacks suffered by the Al-Qaeda-linked
Shebab insurgents in Somalia in recent months.
"We are also determined to galvanize better financial support for AMISOM," the African Union force in Somalia, he said.
The US, he noted, has spent "$385 million" over the last three years
to support the AMISOM mission, providing equipment and training.
The US accounts for around one third of the force's total funding, the
remaining two thirds being shared between the EU and the UN, the
official said.
According to the official, Europe hopes the US will boost its
financial support after the UN agreed on Wednesday to increase the
African Union force in Somalia from 12,000 to 17,731 troops.
Besides attending the Somalia conference, Clinton will meet her
Pakistani counterpart Hina Rabbani Khar on Thursday for talks on the
rocky relationship between Washington and Islamabad.
She will then attend Friday's Tunis conference on Syria before visiting Algeria and Morocco over the weekend.
Somali Prime Minister Abdiweli Mohamed Ali said Wednesday he would
welcome European air strikes against Al-Qaeda-linked Shebab insurgents,
as long as they did not hurt civilians.
As his government announced a strategic victory against the rebels,
Ali told reporters on the eve of the major conference that the Shebab
were a "global enemy, not only a Somali enemy".
The Islamist group already faces the threat of US drone attacks, but
Britain's Guardian newspaper reported on Wednesday that Britain and
other EU countries were considering military air strikes on Shebab
training camps.
AFP
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