African Union Official Cites Successes, Challenges in 2011
Published on December 27, 2011 by cabdulaahi · No Comments
27 December,2011-:The director of peace and security at the African Union Commission says 2011 was a challenging year in terms of conflict management.
But, El Ghassim Wane said the continental body made great strides in managing some of the region’s hot conflicts, from Somalia to Libya and the independence of South Sudan.
Wane credits the AU peacekeeping mission in Somalia (AMISOM) and the forces of the Federal Transitional Government for what he described as unprecedented progress, including what he called the “forced withdrawal of al-Shabab from Mogadishu. He acknowledged that some challenges remain to be overcome in Somalia.
“I referred to progress in Somalia, but it does not, of course, mean that the conflict has been fully resolved, far from it. We are yet to extend further the authority of the Transitional Federal Government. We need to ensure that the transitional period comes to end in August 2012, and that the steps that have been agreed upon among the Somali stakeholders are indeed implemented,” he said.