VOA常速英语2007年-US Concerned About Mounting Humanitarian Crisis

The United States Wednesday expressed serious concern about the humanitarian¹ situation in Somalia, where an estimated one million people have been displaced by civil warfare², mainly around the capital Mogadishu. The chief U.S. diplomat³ for Africa, Jendayi Frazer, says it is time for Somali moderates to come forward and work to end chronic⁴ violence. VOA's David Gollust reports from the State Department.

The relative optimism about the situation in Somalia that prevailed in Washington earlier this year has been replaced by deepening concern that civil strife⁵ is again spinning out of control.

The U.N. High Commissioner⁶ for Refugees said this week an exodus⁷ of Somalis displaced by fighting in Mogadishu has rapidly accelerated, and that a million people are homeless in a crisis that is in some ways more severe than the situation in Sudan's Darfur region.

In a written statement Wednesday, the State Department urged all parties in the Somali conflict to ensure unfettered delivery of humanitarian aid to those affected⁸, and said the United States will work with international partners and aid donors⁹ to respond to the needs of Somalis.

At the same time, it appealed for an effective cease-fire to reduce the level of violence, and it urged all Somali parties to renew dialogue and commit to a non-violent political process.

In an interview with VOA, Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs Jendayi Frazer said blame for the surge in violence in Mogadishu is shared by political extremists as well as forces of the country's transitional government and the Ethiopian troops who intervened in its behalf at the end of last year.

Frazer said the United States will continue to work for full deployment¹¹ of the African Union peacekeeping force for Somalia authorized¹² by the United Nations nearly a year ago, but which is still under-subscribed.

However she said peace will not return to the country, which has been without effective central governance since 1991, until moderates from all factions¹³ come together and support peace. "It's for the Somalis themselves to come together. That is something that the U.N. Secretary-General's Special Representative Ould Abdallah (of Mauritania) said. He said where are the Somali patriots¹⁴? Where are the moderate voices within Somalia, to isolate¹⁵ the extremists and have a legitimate¹⁶ opposition¹⁷. Either join the transitional federal government, or be in opposition to it. But do it through a political process. That's the key," she said.

Frazer said for the increasingly-unpopular Ethiopian troops to withdraw, the full 8,000-member A.U. peace force needs to deploy¹⁰.

At present only 1,600 Ugandan troops are in place. But the chief U.S. Africa diplomat said the United States is training Burundian troops for duty in Somalia and pressing other countries, including Nigeria and Ghana to take part, while remaining ready to provide logistical support.

In the interview, Frazer accused neighboring Eritrea of supporting Somali extremists and giving haven¹⁸ to radicals¹⁹ who fled the country after Ethiopia intervened, and said the Bush administration continues to consider putting Eritrea on its list of state sponsors of terrorism.

She also reiterated²⁰ U.S. calls on Eritrea and Ethiopia for restraint in their border dispute, as a deadline for delineating the boundary under a U.N. settlement plan approaches.

"We have seen the deployment of forces along the border between Eritrea and Ethiopia and that creates tremendous concern about miscalculation. But I think it's neither in the interest of Ethiopia or Eritrea to go back to war. So the main concern is that we clearly state that they need to resolve their problems, particularly on that border, through diplomacy²¹, through the U.N. process that's under way," she said.

Frazer said the U.N. plan requires concessions²² by both parties and said the United States does not take sides in the border issue despite strained relations with the Asmara government.

The Algiers accord in 2000 that ended a two-year war between Ethiopia and Eritrea set up a demilitarized zone and a commission to adjudicate the boundary. The U.N. panel is completing its work without achieving a mutually acceptable settlement, and a disputed previous border plan is to take affect late this month.