UNITED NATIONS - The UN Security Council failed on Wednesday for a second day to agree on a statement calling for a quick end to the war in Somalia after Qatar again insisted it also urge Ethiopian troops to leave.
The 15-nation council remained split 14 to one against the Qatari position, as it had been on Tuesday, so further deliberations were called off with no expectation they would resume any time soon, diplomats said.
| So Qatar is hanging the Council, no doubt at the request of the Arab League and good jihadis everywhere. |
During the two days of closed-door negotiations, Qatar had pushed hard for a council statement demanding that “all foreign forces immediately withdraw from the territories of Somalia and cease their military operations inside Somalia.”
U.S. Ambassador Alejandro Wolff said it was too simplistic to think that an Ethiopian withdrawal would solve the problem. “The solution to the Somalia problem is going to require a broader perspective and approach that will include direct negotiations between the transitional government authorities — the legitimate government of that country — and the Union of Islamic Courts,” Wolff said.
“The Ethiopians aren’t the only foreign force in the country. There is a consensus in the council not to deal with this issue by names,” said Wolff, whose government has signalled support for the Ethiopian offensive in Somalia.
| Mr. Wolff may be a worthy successor to John Bolton. |
Asked if Washington was simply stalling in the council until Ethiopia could complete its military mission, Wolff responded: “I don’t think that the United States is the one blocking this at this point.”
Somalia’s deputy UN ambassador, Idd Beddel Mohamed, said Ethiopia had intervened “at the invitation of the transitional federal government.” |