by Njoroge Kaburo
NAIROBI, March 3 (Xinhua) -- Donors have pledged to continue supporting the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) to stabilize Somalia that is beset with terror attacks.
A statement from the AU mission issued on Friday said representatives of the European Union (EU), the United Nations, Britain, the African Centre for the Constructive Resolution of Disputes (ACCORD) promised their commitment to helping Africa's flagship peace and security mission pull Somalia out of civil strife.
Francisco Madeira, Special Representative of the Chairperson of the African Union Commission (SRCC) for Somalia, told a meeting in Nairobi that the mission had failed to deliver on some of its objectives due to funding constraints, prompting the officials to seek alternative means.
"Inadequate funding has been a major challenge to the implementation of the 2016 budget. Resources were not available to fund our projects and in fact no resources were available," Madeira said.
He appealed to the international community to continue supporting the mission.
The statement said the pledge was made at a five-day meeting held in Nairobi attended by AMISOM's top leadership and donors.
The meeting aims to draw up a list of activities and budget that will guide the mission through its exit strategy expected to come into effect in the second half of 2018.
Albrecht Braun, a representative of the EU-Africa, Caribbean Pacific (EU-ACP) praised AMISOM for the role it has played in pacifying the country emerging from decades of war and anarchy.
"It is obviously clear to everybody that without AMISOM, Somalia would not be where it is today. A lot has been achieved, thanks to AMISOM, which has provided the space for the political process to progress," Braun said.
James Haggerty, an official from the British Embassy in Somalia, reiterated the importance of winning the hearts and minds of the Somali population, if stabilization efforts are to yield fruit while lauding AMISOM for trying to achieve the objective.
"We look forward to continuing and developing a very close relationship with the African Union and with AMISOM in particular in Mogadishu," said Haggerty.
Issues discussed at the meeting included support for political processes, security sector, stabilization and recovery, protection of human rights and gender process.
