2/14/2005
The African Union said that it will proceed forward to sending a mission to Somalia to study the possibility of deploying an African force for keeping peace there after the visit of the mission was postponed was postponed for security reasons.
The special envoy for the African Union to Somalia, Admor Kampudikzi, said that the postponement of the mission's travel which was due on Friday took place after the commission of the African Union recommended to wait until getting clarifications about the security condition on the ground.
He added that Nairobi from where the mission will be launched added that the "Europeans announced they will not go to Somalia for security reasons especially because of rumors saying that a prize of $ 5,000 will be given for each one assassination attempt on a white man in Somalia," adding that he does not know until now when the mission will leave.
One British journalist working for the BBC was killed on Wednesday by the bullets of unknown soldiers in Mogadishu.
The delegation which was due to leave for Mogadishu on Friday includes a team from the African Union, IGAD states, Italy, Sweden and the Arab League.
The new Somali government is due to arrive in Mogadishu on February 21 after Nairobi used to be its headquarters.
Somalia is in a total chaos since the fall of the regime of the former President Seyad Berri in 1999. The civil war resulted in killing between 300 to 500 thousands.