A UN-backed international meeting on Somalia has called on the world community to support initiatives aimed at stabilizing the Horn of Africa nation, which has had no central government for almost two decades.
In a communique issued following a day-long International Contact Group (ICG)'s meeting in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, the meeting called on the
international community to offer practical and, where possible, direct support to the Transitional Federal Government (TFG) as it battles extremists in the lawless nation.
"Doing so gives the TFG the opportunity to demonstrate that it can deliver on completing urgent tasks and be held accountable including through such mechanisms as the Central Bank or PricewaterhouseCoopers," read the communique issued by the Nairobi- based UN Political Office for Somalia said on Friday.
"The ICG believes the international community should make further progress on understanding the requirements of the TFG. It welcomes the continuing development of the partnership between the TFG and the international community."
According to the joint statement, the 33-member ICG on Somalia noted the TFG's call for the global community to establish a greater presence in Mogadishu as soon as possible, and welcomed the Organisation of the Islamic
Conference (OIC) decision to open an office in the war-torn capital.
"The ICG condemns the continuing violence perpetrated against Somali civilians by extremists," the group said, citing in particular the Dec. 3 suicide bomb attack on a graduation ceremony for medical students which killed at least 15 people in Mogadishu.
The ICG called on the international community to provide coordinated, timely and sustained support to build Somali security institutions including the provision of stipends following the completion of training.
The meeting also deplored the continuing piracy off the Somali coast and its "devastating effect on the lives of those in Somalia and the region as well as international trade" and welcomed the international naval presence while recognizing that the causes of piracy are on land and must be addressed urgently.
The ICG reiterated its support for the 2008 Djibouti process, a peace accord between the TFG and one of the rebel groups, the Alliance for the
Re-liberation of Somalia (ARS), which was meant to pave the way for the cessation of all armed conflict across the faction-plagued country.
The meeting agreed that holding a well-planned, international conference, as specified in the Djibouti Agreement, would be an important contribution towards establishing the objectives of the transition.
According to the communique, the Jeddah meeting agreed that the discussion on transition should be placed within the framework of a longer
term recovery effort, noting the Somali prime minister's call for this conference to take place as soon as possible.
"It calls on all groups and factions to join the Djibouti process and work with the Transitional Federal Government which is the legitimate and internationally recognised Government of Somalia," the communiqué said.
The ICG also welcomed the fragile government's commitment to continue its outreach efforts to all groups willing to cooperate and ready to renounce violence and encourages the TFG to continue and expand its efforts.
Islamist fighters including the hard-line Shebaab militia have waged battles against the transitional government, its predecessor cabinet and their allies, vowing to fight until all foreign forces withdraw and Sharia law is imposed.
The AMISOM force -- the only security presence backing the government -- is well short of the 8,000 soldiers initially planned and is
regularly attacked by the Islamist Al-Shabaab militia.
More than one million people have fled their homes. Fewer than one in three Somalis, whose life expectancy is 46 years, have access to clean
water.
Somalia has had no effective central authority since former president Mohamed Siad Barre was ousted in 1991, setting off a bloody cycle of clashes between rival factions.