Somalia rejects postponing UN aid

The president of Somalia, Abdullah Youssef, refused the call made by the UN secretary general Kofi Annan postponing the expansion of the scale of aid to Somalia until the improvement of the security condition in the country.

In a press conference held in Ethiopia, Youssef said he is eager to return back to the country and assume his missions and he refused to change into "a government of refugees or a government in exile." He added that there is no need "to wait for restoring security in Mogadishu and Somalia has many other cities and what the new government needs is to enter and assume its responsibilities directly."

Youssef also said he hopes that an army of 30,000 troops will supervise the security of the country within one year.

The UN security general Kofi Annan warned last week from the speedy expansion of the activity of building the country which is carried out in Somalia by the UN under the pretext of achieving more progress at the security and political aspects.

Despite the desire of the new government to impose its authority on the country whose population tolls 7 million the International community feels concerned over taking part in Somalia after a failed American mission to keep peace and after that the UN were forced to withdraw in 1993.

However, officials and observers on the Somali issue admitted the transfer of the government to Somalia as soon as possible under the pretext that Somalia has run a great risk by forming its government and that the International community has to undergo a similar risk in order not to eliminate wasting this unique opportunity.

Somalia has collapsed after toppling the regime of the former President Muhammad Seyad Berri in 1991 and then it was torn into villages led by war lords in the absence of a central authority. the Somali parliament elected Abdullah Youssef as a president of Somalia two weeks ago in neighboring Kenya. N.