Ambassador Hoang Chi Trung, Deputy Representative to the UN Security Council made the statement at the council’s meeting on the situation in Somali in New York on May 14.

He noted that heavy fighting between Somali government forces and armed groups in and around Mogadishu has caused substantial losses of civilian lives and the exodus of around 750,000 residents to more secure areas.

The Vietnamese representative emphasised the urgent need to resolve the Somali issue in a comprehensive manner, saying the Transitional Federal Government (TFG) and other concerned parties in Somali should assume the primary responsibility for addressing the crisis.

The UN and the African Union should play an active role in assisting the related parties to overcome the current stalemate in the implementation of the reconciliation process, Ambassador Trung said.

He highlighted the Government of Djibouti’s efforts in organising the talks on May 12 between the TFG and the opposition Alliance for the Re-liberation of Somali with the participation of the Special Representative of the Secretary General, Djibouti’s Minister of Muslim Affairs and representatives of the African Union (AU), the League of Arab States and the European Union (EU).
“This is a new and important first step towards stability in this war-torn nation,” Mr Trung said.