BRUSSELS (AP) — The European Union and Somalia have urged the international community — particularly Arab and Islamic nations — to help re-establish security in the African nation after two decades of conflict.
European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso said Tuesday that the EU, Somalia's largest donor, is prepared to mobilize additional resources for that task.
"Our effort will be substantial but will only cover part of the increased needs," he said during a news conference with Somali Prime Minister Abdiweli Mohamed Ali. "So I call on other donors and the international community to step up their assistance."
They were speaking ahead of an international conference in London this week during which dozens of countries will try to agree how to help Somalia.
African Union peacekeepers recently pushed al-Shabab militants out of Mogadishu, Somalia's capital. The militia, which announced a merger with al-Qaida earlier this month, also is being fought by Kenyan forces in the south and Ethiopian troops from the west.
The U.N. Security Council is considering a new resolution that would authorize an increase in the peacekeeping force from 10,000 to 18,000 troops.
"Somalia is moving from an era of lawlessness, chaos, warlordism, extremism to an era of peace and stability," Ali said, adding that he expects members of the Arab League and the Organization of the Islamic Conference to provide more help.
"They can do a lot and they should do a lot," he said.
