Bartamaha(Nairobi):-The two day Summit of the 15th Extraordinary Session of the IGAD Assembly of Heads of State and Government on Somalia ended on Monday with several concrete actions to chart the way forward in solving political and security crisis in the country.

Acknowledging the deteriorating security situation in Somalia which poses serious threat to the peace, security and stability to the people and Transitional Federal Government of Somali, the region and the international community, the IGAD leaders outlined a series of measures that need to be taken to contain the crisis.

In a joint communiqué issued on Monday and read by the Ethiopian Foreign Affairs Minister H. E Seyoum Mesfin who is also the chairperson of the IGAD Council of Ministers, IGAD leaders emphasized the need for an urgent and robust response by the international Community led by the UN Security Council to arrest the escalating danger facing Somali and the sub region and reiterated its previous call to the UN to convert AMISOM into a UN peace keeping operation without delay.

Noting that the approved level of AMISOM troops has not been achieved, the leaders decided to deploy 2000 peace keepers under AMISOM to Somali immediately and further called upon the African Union Commission to mobilize the necessary resources, logistics and equipment for the deployment.

The IGAD Summit also resolved to work with all parties including AMISOM and the UN Security Council to raise 20,000 troops to be deployed throughout the country.  In this regard, the Summit embraced the need to mobilize Somali forces internally with possible intervention by neighboring countries.

Recommendations

The leaders also endorsed the recommendations of the Military Mission to Somalia and directed the Chiefs of Defense Staff of IGAD Members States to review and implement, as appropriate, the recommendations made by the IGAD Military Mission to Somalia.

The leaders also directed IGAD Secretariat to strengthen its office in Mogadishu within 15 days to enable AMISOM and IGAD establish in Mogadishu an operational level coordination mechanism to strengthen and harmonize their support to the Transitional Federal Government in the areas of training, establishment of command and control structure.

Towards this end, the leaders urged the Transitional Federal Institutions to enhance their cohesion and unity in the face of the enormous challenges that Somalia is facing currently so as to achieve progress in the accomplishment of the numerous tasks envisaged for the transitional period.

In his remarks during the Summit that was Chaired

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