May 02, 2005
A United Nations delegation arrived in Mogadishu on Sunday to join Somali Prime Minister Ali Mohamed Gedi currently on a mission aimed at speeding up the relocation of Somalia's transitional government from exile in Kenya.
The delegation led by the head of the UN Political Office for Somalia, Babafemi Badejo, left Nairobi early Sunday in an expression of support to the transitional federal institutions, the UN office said.
"Badejo hopes to support the prime minister in fostering dialogue with members of his cabinet and parliament who are in Mogadishu," a spokesperson from the UN Political Office for Somalia, Sandra Macharia said.
Macharia said the visit will also provide the opportunity to encourage the leaders who have been in Mogadishu for a while to continue with the pacification of the city while urging them to locate this effort within a national relocation plan.
"The UN would like to appeal for dialogue amongst all members of the Somali government, so that we can move on with the critical work of rebuilding this nation," said Badejo.
Gedi on Friday appealed to the warlords controlling the country's capital to cooperate with his government, currently exiled in Kenya, to pave the way for its safe relocation home.
"It is time to work together for the well-being of Somalia," Gedi told thousands of Somalis in northern Mogadishu during his visit, which is the first since he took office last year.
He hopes to persuade ministers and members of parliament to return to Kenya for further discussions on his plans for the relocation of the government.
The government, which includes several faction leaders, has been unable to relocate because of security concerns.
It has, however, come under increasing pressure from the Kenyan government and western diplomats to return to Mogadishu.
Somali President Abdullahi Yusuf Ahmed, and Gedi, have said the government cannot function in Mogadishu until the city is pacified and secured.
However, a number of prominent former faction leaders want the government to relocate to the capital.
President Yusuf has asked African and Arab states to supply 7,500 troops to help disarm militiamen roaming Mogadishu since warlords overran the country in 1991, toppling Mohamed Siad Barre and ending central authority.
But a dispute about whether so-called frontline states bordering Somalia should contribute soldiers has caused further problems and delays to the planned African Union peacekeeping force.