Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Abul Gheit yesterday warned of the grave situation in Somalia, which he said could trigger a wider regional war and threaten the future of the Horn of Africa, the official news agency MENA reported.

 

Abul Gheit made the warning, while sending messages to his counterparts in Ethiopia, Eritrea and three member states of the UN Security Council including the US, Britain and France.

 

All international and regional powers should intensify their efforts to halt the armed operations in Somalia and avoid the outbreak of a regional war that could have far-reaching repercussions, Abul Gheit was quoted as urging.

 

Fighting resumed in Somalia Thursday between fighters loyal to Somalia's Transitional Federal Government (TFG), which was said to be backed by Ethiopian forces, and its powerful rival the Union of Islamic Courts (UIC) despite a truce secured by an EU envoy.

 

Earlier on Monday, Ethiopian fighter jets bombed the international airport in the Somali capital Mogadishu.

 

Abul Gheit warned that slipping into further confrontations would create a hotbed of conflicts in the Horn of Africa and provide a fertile ground for extremism, thus undermining all plans for stability and development.

 

He said it was important for Somali parties to reach a ceasefire and return to the negotiating table to reach a solution to their political and security differences.

 

Somalia has not had an effective central government since warlords overthrew former ruler Mohamed Siad Barre in 1991 and then turned on each other.

 

The UIC now controls Mogadishu and much of the rest of the war-ravaged Horn of Africa nation, while the interim government, which formed two years ago, has been unable to assert its authority over the country.

 

(Xinhua News Agency December 26, 2006)