Participants to a meeting of the International Contact Group on Somalia, held at Cairo-based Arab League headquarters on Tuesday, called on international parties to take urgent actions to help Somalia restore law and order, Egypt's news agency MENA reported.
 
Arab League (AL) Secretary General Amr Moussa, in his opening speech, said there was an urgent need to take an immediate action on the security challenge facing war-torn Somalia, which is a member of the pan-Arab organization.

Moussa said the recently agreed-upon ceasefire must be maintained, referring to Sunday's truce declaration by Somalia's powerful Hawiye clan which said it had reached a ceasefire with Ethiopian troops.

The AL chief said what was needed was a mechanism capable of monitoring the ceasefire, which was rejected by Somali transitional government.

Moussa said Somalia was facing four main challenges, which were in relation to security, political progress, humanitarian crisis and reconstruction. He urged the international community to offer immediate help to restore security in Somalia, warning of a deteriorating situation otherwise.

Political progress through national reconciliation will be needed too, said Moussa, adding that further complications are expected and violence will spread without political progress.

The AL chief called on Ethiopia to withdraw its troops, saying that African Union (AU) forces will be deployed as Ethiopia pulls out its soldiers.

Moussa also said the AL would offer US$ one million to help rehabilitate militiamen to join governmental armed forces.

The one-day international meeting also brought together Kenya and Norway foreign ministers, US Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs Jendayi Frazer, as well as representatives from Britain, the UN, the AU, the Organization of Islamic Conference and the Inter-Governmental Authority on Development.

The meeting focused on discussion of plans to push for reconciliation among Somali warring parties through a national reconciliation conference, slated for later this month.

Norwegian State Secretary Raymond Johansan, whose country chairs the International Contact Group on Somalia, said the coming step for Somalia would be urging the transitional government in Somalia to hold a national reconciliation conference to be attended by all the parties concerned.

Somalia has not had an effective national government since 1991,when warlords overthrew former ruler Mohamed Siad Barre and then turned on one another, throwing the country into anarchy.

The transitional government was formed in 2004 with UN help, but has little authority across the country because it has no real army or police force.

(Xinhua News Agency April 4, 2007)