December 5, 2007 (CAIRO) — The Arab League called today to deploy an international force in Somalia and expressed its readiness to take part in this multinational mission to fight increasing piracy in Somali shores and to help to establish a national government.

Arab League at the level of delegates held an emergency meeting today chaired by Saudi Arabia and in the presence of African Union Commissioner Ramtane Lamamra security and peace at the request of the Secretary-General Amr Musa to examine the latest developments in Somalia.

The meeting came after pirates seized a Saudi supertanker carrying $100 million in crude oil off the coast of Kenya. Also last September Somali pirates hijacked an Egyptian cargo vessel and only released it after receiving a ransom. It also fears downturn in revenue from the Suez Canal because of increasing piracy.

In a statement issued on Friday, the Arab League called upon UN Security Council to establish and deploy an international force to stabilize Somalia including (AMISOM)) and Arab and foreign military units.

Also it urged to expand the mandate of the international force to work for the stability of Somalia and enable them to contribute to achieve security throughout Somalia and make the fight of piracy is an integral part of the process of restoring Somalia’s sovereignty, security and stability

Saudi Arabia has signalled its readiness to cooperate with the European nations already patrolling the Gulf of Aden.

Saudi Arabia and Egypt have significant naval forces with 18,000 to 20,000 personnel each though they have never really been tested in combat. Other Arab countries in the region have smaller and less experienced forces.

The meeting further stressed the need to support the African Union Mission in Somalia and condemned any abuse aimed at the troops or hinder its mission.

It also reiterated its call to the African and Arab countries to contribute to the AMISOM by sending troops and providing material and logistical support to rehabilitate Somali troops.

Earlier this week African Union Commission Chairman Jean Ping and Peace and Security Commission chief Ramtane Lamamra were in Cairo for talks with the Arab League officials. Their trip aimed at generating financial support for a rapid increase in the size of the AU AMISOM peacekeeping mission. AMISOM has worked alongside Ethiopian troops to prop up Somalia’s fragile U.N.-backed transitional government.

In a letter sent to potential donors this week, Commissioner Lamamra said Uganda and Burundi, the two nations that supply almost all the 3,400 AMISOM troops in Somalia, had each offered to supply an additional battalion of 850 troops. Military analysts said such a manpower surge would just about make up for the departing Ethiopian contingent of about 2,000.

The Arab delegates, in today’s meeting, alluded to the need to support the peace process and national reconciliation in Somalia through the implementation of all peace agreements signed in Djibouti, and called on all Somali factions to adopt dialogue as the only way to resolve differences.

On the decision of Ethiopia to withdraw its troops from Somalia, the meeting urged the international community through the UN Security Council to work to provide urgent support and additional forces to the AMISOM in order to enable it to play its part as soon as the exit of Ethiopian troops

However, an Ethiopian foreign ministry official told Voice of America two days ago that Addis Ababa had agreed to push back its self-declared December 31 troop-withdrawal deadline by, at most, a few weeks, to allow time for the AMISOM replacements to arrive.

He also said that Ethiopian leadership are losing patience with the international community’s seeming lack of concern at the possible collapse of Somalia’s fragile transitional government, and the likelihood it would be replaced by an administration led by religious extremists hostile to the West.

The Arab diplomats expressed their readiness to cooperate with the African Union and in coordination with the United Nations and international partners to organize an international conference on Somalia reconstruction.

(ST)