PM:Somalia needs intervention

Somalia, facing multiple challenges including the ongoing humanitarian and security crises, needs "urgent interventions to change this situation," said the prime minister of the restive African nation. "Today the future of Somalia hangs in the balance and with it the prospect of peace, stability and prosperity on the Horn of Africa and security for nations across the world," said Abdiweli Mohamed Ali as he addressed the general debate of the UN 66th General Assembly session. Describing the humanitarian situation in the region as "seemingly unending," the prime minister said it had many causes, including the collapse of the central government, struggles for limited resources, cycles of devastating droughts and an underdeveloped economy. With the famine deemed in six regions of Somalia, he said that "without urgent interventions to change this situation, it is estimated that up to three-quarters of a million people may perish in the next few months." Terrorist organizations, especially Somalia's Islamist al Qaida-linked militants of Al Shabaab, have continued to exploit on those weaknesses. "Clearly, the battle against al Qaida is one in which we all have a stake in which we all, therefore, have responsibilities," he said. "In Somalia, we have been doing what we can, within our limited resources, to fulfill our obligations in this regard." The Transitional Federal Government must "improve on our performance and create necessary conditions for the growth of the Somali economy," he said. "However, the scale of the challenge is such that we will continue to rely on the help from our international partners." "Resolute global action in support our efforts is now required if we are to consolidate and build on the gains already made, and extend them to the rest of the country for the sake of future generations," he said.