Britain's Hague visits Somalia for talks on security, piracy

Feb 2, 2012, 10:28 GMT

London - British Foreign Secretary William Hague on Thursday travelled to Somalia for talks on security ahead of a conference in London aimed at bringing stability to the war-torn country, the Foreign Office in London said.

Hague's visit to Somalia was the first by a British foreign minister in 20 years. His arrival in the capital Mogadishu amid tight security marked the start of a major diplomatic push to bring stability to the country.

The 10,000-strong African Union (AU) peacekeeping force, known as AMISOM, in August last year helped drive militant Islamist group al-Shabaab out of the capital.

Al-Shabaab, which has been battling to oust the internationally backed government since early 2007, still controls most of southern and central Somalia, despite pressure from the AU, pro-government forces and Kenyan troops.

Despite the progress, there could be 'no let-up' in the pressure imposed on the al-Qaeda-linked group, Hague said.

'We need to step this up. We are not complacent about it,' Hague said, according to the Press Association.

Britain is hosting a major conference on Somalia in London later this month, which is expected to be attended by representatives of 50 nations.

He said that counter-terrorism would be high on the agenda at the conference, scheduled for February 23, as well as tackling piracy and Somalia's humanitarian problems.

'For the security of the UK, it matters a lot for Somalia to become a more stable place,' said Hague.

'One of the objectives of our conference in London is to strengthen counter-terrorism co-operation to make it easier for countries in this region to disrupt terrorist networks, to disrupt their financing and the movement of potential terrorists.'

Somalia is recovering from the after-effects of a devastating famine which, exacerbated by the conflict, claimed tens of thousands of lives, according to the United Nations.

The Horn of Africa nation has been embroiled in chaos since the 1991 ouster of dictator Mohamed Siad Barre unleashed war lords upon the nation and set the scene for the current insurgency.

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