20100809
africanews

The United Nations, foreign embassies and organizations will return to Somalia within two months, a UN envoy has said. The U.N. special representative for Somalia, Augustine Mahiga said that UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon had taken a decision in which senior staff will move back to Somalia.

He said that they also hope to settle in the breakaway region of Somaliland and the semi-autonomous of Puntland.

"We are going to transfer embassies and agencies based in Nairobi to Somalia, and our targets are three. First is Puntland, second is Somaliland and third is Mogadishu," Mahiga told reporters in Nairobi.

The move will take place during the next 60 days, according to Augustine Mahiga who added that AU peacekeeping force would improve security for the move.

"Increasing the strength of AMISOM force from 6,200 to the overall of 8,100 will improve and enhance security to create space for the deployment of United Nations and the international community," Mahiga said during a press conference attended by Somali Prime Minister Omar Abdirashid Ali Sharmarke at the U.N. headquarters in Nairobi.

AMISOM force is completing 14 facilities that could accommodate staff at a safe zone near Mogadishu airport.

The United Nations, embassies and foreign charitable organisations working in Somalia have been based in Kenya capital Nairobi since 1993.