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East African bloc discusses situations in Somalia, South Sudan

Xinhua, December 10, 2016 Adjust font size:

The Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) on Friday held its extraordinary summit in Ethiopia's capital Addis Ababa.

The 29th Extraordinary Summit of Heads of State and Government of IGAD discussed developments of regional peace and stability, mainly on South Sudan and Somalia.

Ethiopian Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn, and Presidents Omar Hassan al-Bashir of Sudan, Salva Kiir Mayardit of South Sudan, Ismail Omar Guelleh of Djibouti, and Hassan Sheikh Mohamud of Somalia as well as president representatives of Kenya and Uganda have attended the extraordinary summit.

Speaking at the opening of the summit, Hailemariam said peace and stability in Somalia have been gradually improving after a series of successful military campaigns and continuous efforts in political transformation and state formation.

Hailemariam, however, noted that Al-Shabaab has remained a challenge. And, according to Hailemariam, the main problem in dealing with Al-Shabaab is lack of coordination between AMISOM, other friendly forces and the Somalia national forces.

The IGAD Executive Secretary, Mahboub Maalim, on Thursday held separate consultations with representatives of the governments of UK, Norway and Italy.

The consultations touched on regional peace and security developments in light of the IGAD Summit meeting of Heads of State and Government scheduled for Dec. 9, Friday, according to the East African bloc. Endit