Somalia Summit Fails to Reach Peacekeeping Target

An African summit focusing on the fate of conflict-ravaged Somalia ended today without a firm commitment to send a sizeable peacekeeping force to the country.

The two-day African Union (AU) meeting, which took place in the Ethiopian capital, Addis Ababa, closed with only 4,000 troops pledged for peacekeeping duties in Somalia - half the hoped for figure of 8,000.

Much of the summit's second day was dominated by discussions about the need for sufficient peacekeepers to fill the vacuum when Ethiopian troops pull out. Their withdrawal comes after a six-month operation targeting Islamist militant forces.

Despite warnings at the start of the summit that Somalia could plunge back into anarchy when Ethiopian soldiers complete their withdrawal, few countries were willing to commit troops.

However, Ghana's president and the new AU chairman, John Kufuor, said other nations could yet contribute. "That we have 4,000 [troops] shows that we have come to the stage that we have 50% already," he added.

"It's early days yet. We have asked the nations to contribute, and I expect that they will contribute."

Many African nations are nervous about committing soldiers to one of the world's most dangerous countries, where warlords and their gunmen ruled unchecked for 15 years.

As the summit was closing, a Somali militant group released a video message on an Islamist website in which a hooded gunman said any African peacekeepers would be seen as invaders and targeted for attack.

There was renewed violence in the Somali capital, Mogadishu, yesterday evening as unknown attackers fired a series of mortar rounds at an Ethiopian and Somali government base.

Uganda, Nigeria and Burundi have pledged most of the peacekeeping troops so far, with an unknown number also committed by Ghana and Malawi. The EU has offered £12.5m to finance the operation, with £20m coming from the US.

Ethiopia began to withdraw some of its troops from Mogadishu a week ago, a month after driving Islamists out of the city. The Ethiopian government says its mission in the country is complete, and wants the first AU units to deploy by mid-February.

In other developments at the summit, Somalia's president agreed to international demands for a national reconciliation conference taking in all sides of the conflict.

"There is now an opportunity for a breakthrough in political reconciliation in Somalia and for putting in place a genuinely viable government," Abdullahi Yusuf said in a speech.

His agreement to the demands was a key condition in securing US and EU support for the peacekeeping force.

The new UN secretary general, Ban Ki-moon, who attended the summit, said the reconciliation talks must include moderate leaders from the ousted Islamist movement.

According to Washington, the chaos in Somalia has allowed the country to become a haven for al-Qaida.

Earlier this month, US airstrikes on the country targeted three top al-Qaida members accused of terror attacks in east Africa. It failed to kill any of them.