One Somali faction calls for international military intervention

The leader of one Somali faction, Othman Hassan Ali, better known as "Atou," has called for an international military intervention in Somalia in order to put an end to Eritrea's interventions.

In a telephone conversation with the AFP, Atou said the international community has to send forces to Somalia in order to prevent bloodshed that may result in Somalia's involvement in the border disputes between Ethiopia and Eritrea.

Atou asserted that the aim behind the foreign intervention is to disarm weapons from the militias and facilitate the peace process among the warring Somali factions, noting the importance that such an intervention will be neutral.

Atou said that Eritrea is training hundreds of men from the Oromo Liberation Front -- an Ethiopian rebel movement in Somalia with the objective of destabilizing the government of Addis Ababa.

Atou called upon the Somalis to fight these militias which are stationed in Qouryouli province in the southern part of the country.

In April the UN Security Council called upon all its member states to abide by the embargo imposed on arms sales to Somalia since 1992, as since then the Somali warring factions are still fighting each other, after all attempts have failed to form a central government.