Addressing a news conference in Nairobi, US Ambassador to Kenya, Michael Ranneberger, announced the US' backing for the upcoming Somali reconciliation conference, labeling it the best chance in decades for the democratic future of the African country to be smoothly mapped out. He further urged the transitional government to make the conference inclusive by reaching out to the country's recently ousted Islamic militants.

Ranneberger added that "we further continue to support the process of national reconciliation and also the deployment of African Union forces. We are also seeking substantial funding support urgent developments in Somalia," the envoy said.

Washington has pledged to finance efforts to stabilize Somalia, for the moment having put up US$14 million to bolster African Union (AU) peacekeeping operations and US$26 million for development and humanitarian efforts in Somalia, he pointed out.

"The US$40 million is already being spent in Somalia. The additional funds totalling US$60 million should bring about true progress in development efforts and help AU peacekeeping attempts to stabilize Somalia," said Ranneberger.

"The plan for national reconciliation is now very promising with documents charting the needed sharing of national power across federal institutions. Our conclusion is that the coming process will need to be much more inclusive as it is positive."

The transitional government, now restated to its rightful position, has come under pressure from Ethiopia, the United States, the European Union and the United Nations to reach out to all parties in Somalia to bring back moderate Islamists and influential tribal groups to negotiations.

Exiled Islamist leader Sheikh Sharif Ahmed, a moderate member of the Islamic courts movement that formerly controlled much of Somalia, including Mogadishu, is one of the figureheads that western nations see as necessary to reconciliation.

"We do think the situation in Somalia is moving forward in a very positive way. We do think there are good prospects to consolidate peace and democratic governance in the coming months in Somalia," said Ranneberger.

The AU has so far deployed 1,200 Ugandan peacekeepers in Somalia, with a total of 8,000 expected over the next six months with troops from Burundi, Nigeria, Ghana and Malawi set to arrive.

The transitional government further maintained it would bring peace to Mogadishu within 30 days. However, residents have continued to flee under the repeated mortar and gun fire coming from insurgents.

Since Ethiopian-backed government troops seized the capital, security has been slow to return to normal.

This has prompted many analysts to predict that no country would send in peacekeepers to Somalia, should the government prove unable to overwhelm the sporadic resistance it encounters in Mogadishu.
 
Masked men believed to be affiliated with the Islamic militants dragged the corpses of two soldiers through the streets of the Somali capital on Wednesday and set their bodies alight as the government endured fierce battles to consolidate its control of the city.
 
Medical officials announced at least seven dead and 36 wounded as Mogadishu weathered some of its heaviest fighting in months.

(Xinhua News Agency, March 22, 2007)