Prime Minister Abdiweli Mohamed Ali, the UN envoy to Somalia and top African envoys all called for extra military resources to secure the capital Mogadishu, where hundreds of thousands of people have sought refuge from a devastating drought that has already killed tens of thousands.
About 9,000 troops from Burundi and Uganda make up an African Union force that protects the transitional government against Shebab insurgents, who recently abandoned positions in Mogadishu.
Under its UN mandate the force can be up to 12,000 troops and the African Union has stepped up calls for the extra soldiers to be found and for the mandate to allow up to 20,000 troops in Somalia.
The extra 3,000 troops are "urgently needed to prevent a security vacuum in the areas of Mogadishu vacated by Shebab," the prime minister told a Security Council debate on Somalia.
A similar message was given by UN envoy to Somalia, Augustine Mahiga, who warned that Somali warlords are ready to take over areas left by Shebab.
"The extremists are likely to resort to terrorist tactics in Mogadishu and elsewhere," he said. UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon has called for a special guard force to be deployed in Mogadishu to protect UN officials and civilian workers for the international force.
South Africa's UN envoy, Baso Sangqu, highlighted African Union demands for greater UN support for the military force "to prevent any reversal of the security gains."
The weak transitional government has been given another 12 months, until August 2012, to meet targets for establishing an administration and setting up national political talks.
Britain's UN ambassador, Mark Lyall Grant, said that Security Council support for the Somali authorities had to be conditional on the transitional government meeting the targets.
"We expect the transitional federal institutions to demonstrate improved accountability and transparency -- in particular around the allocation and management of resources and to remain united and to refrain from any further internal disputes," said Lyall Grant.
"They should be in no doubt that the UN Security Council will stick to its commitment to make future support contingent on progress against the roadmap," added the envoy, whose country has taken a lead role in giving international help to Somalia.
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