The European Parliament adopted a resolution in which it strongly condemns the recent fighting in and around Mogadishu and the events in Jowhar and elsewhere in the country, which resulted in the loss of life of numerous Somali civilians and the murder of Mr Martin Adler, a Swedish freelance photographer at a pro-Union of Islamic Courts meeting. It asks all parties concerned to refrain from any action likely to escalate the current tensions, to pursue the path of dialogue and to extend the necessary cooperation to the Transitional Federal Government and parliament as the legitimate central authorities in Somalia governed by the framework of the Transitional Federal Charter.
It supports the initiatives taken by the African Union, the Arab League and the International Authority on Development (IGAD) as well as their central role in the efforts aimed at sustaining the peace and reconciliation process in Somalia.
It urges the Transitional Federal Institutions and the Union of Islamic Courts to fully assume their responsibilities in the implementation of the dialogue initiated in Khartoum and calls on the newly formed International Somalia Contact Group, consisting of the African Union, the United Nations, the European Union, the United States, Sweden, Norway, Italy, Tanzania and others, to focus on issues of governance and institution-building, humanitarian assistance for the whole of Somali people and improving regional stability and security as a means to greater policy coordination among members of the international community.
The Parliament calls on the international community, and the EU in particular, to increase the provision of humanitarian assistance to internally displaced persons and the populations in need and calls on all parties concerned to respect international humanitarian law and allow relief agencies access to the populations in need, as well as to ensure the protection of humanitarian workers.
Lastly, Parliament urges strict application and monitoring of the arms embargo against Somalia imposed by the UN in 1992, for which scant respect is shown, and insists that a partial lifting of the embargo should in no way be linked to a possible UN-mandated peace support mission.