NEW YORK (dpa): The United Nations said Monday the world commitment to peace and security in Somalia entails efforts to reduce threats posed by Islamist al-Shabaab insurgents, who have allied with the terrorist group al-Qaeda. The UN special envoy for Somalia, Augustine Mahiba, told the UN Security Council that al-Shabaab insurgents have declared themselves “to be an integral of al-Qaeda” in their fight against the transitional government in Mogadishu. Mahiba said the conference on Somalia in London last month had scaled up international support for the Transitional Federal Government (TFG). The 15-nation council in New York authorized the African mission in Somalia to increase military strength from 12,000 to more than 17,700 troops in order to support the TFG. The council held a meeting to review the situation in Somalia, where the TFG is to be disbanded following presidential and legislative elections in August. Mahiba said the African mission and Somali forces recently overran an al-Shabaab stronghold and terrorist base at Maslah, captured the strategic town of Baidoa while a military offensive was launched against the insurgents in southern Somalia. BM ShortURL: http://goo.gl/Wtdzy Tags: Al Qaeda, Somalia, UN Section: East Africa, Latest News
