Vietnam supports the efforts of the African Union and the African Union’s Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) to maintain stability and security in and around Mogadishu in hazardous circumstances.

Ambassador Le Luong Minh, Vietnam ’s Permanent Representative to the UN Security Council, stated this at the council’s briefing on Somalia in New York on October 8.

“We welcome and support the decision by the African Union to increase AMISOM’s strength to its mandated troop levels and its call for the international community to continue supporting AMISOM’s deployment and operations,” he said.

He also confirmed that Vietnam supports the approach set out in the Secretary-General’s April report, which asks the Department for Peacekeeping Operations, in consultation with the African Union, to continue with its efforts to develop and refine existing contingency plans that will allow for an eventual transition from AMISOM to a UN peacekeeping operation if the security conditions on the ground permit.

The Vietnamese ambassador who chaired the council’s briefing called for close cooperation and an effective partnership between the United Nations Political Office for Somalia (UNPOS), the Inter-Governmental Authority on Development (IGAD), the African Union (AU) and the League of Arab States (LAS) in dealing with the situation in Somalia with a view to bringing about lasting peace and security throughout the region.

Minh applauded the significant progress made by the Transitional Federal Government (TFG) in fostering national reconciliation, sustaining dialogue with opposition groups, improving the capacity of local government and building up a national security apparatus.

He praised President Sheikh Sharif Ahmed’s initiative to establish a Commission for Security and Pacification, which is tasked with reforming Somalia ’s security forces and all law enforcement agencies.

“We welcome his commitment to fully implement the Djibouti Agreement in order to find a lasting peace in this war-torn country and call upon all opposition groups which remain outside the Djibouti Agreement to put down their arms, renounce violence and join the reconciliation process,” he said.

The Vietnamese representative, however, expressed his concern about the deteriorating humanitarian situation in Somalia , with more than 250 thousand people displaced and 3.7 million people in dire need of humanitarian support due to intense fighting in Mogadishu , growing insecurity in much of southern and central Somalia and drought.

He also called upon the international community to provide immediate and concrete support to the TFG to repel the onslaught of extremist forces, which are intent on destroying the Djibouti peace process, and enable the Government to exercise its authority throughout the country for the sake of the Somali people.

On the same day, as the UNSC President, Ambassador Minh issued the council’s press statement condemning a terrorist attack near the Indian Embassy in Kabul , Afghanistan./.