International Backers of Somalia's TFG Show Growing Unease

nternational backers of Somalia's Transitional Federal Government are calling on government leaders to show cohesion and unity, signaling a growing unease in the international community about the stability of the fragile administration.
In a press statement, top foreign envoys to Somalia – including the U.N.'s Special Representative Augustine Mahiga, his counterpart from the African Union Boubacar Diarra, and Kipruto arap Kirwa from the regional body IGAD – described the ongoing feud between Somali President Sharif Sheik Ahmed and the Prime Minister Omar Abdirashid Ali Sharmarke as "unhelpful" and "potentially damaging" to a country ravaged by nearly two decades of war.
The envoys said those who stand to gain most from the in-fighting are extremists, led by al-Qaida-linked al-Shabab group. The envoys stressed that President Sharif and Prime Minister Sharmarke need to work together to tackle the enormous challenges of defeating the Islamists' threat and establishing security by next August, when the mandate of the transitional government is set to expire.Read More