The United Nations said Thursday that the current African Union peacekeeping force in Somalia should be boosted to 20,000 troops in order to deal with the civil war there. The UN Security Council had authorized the deployment of 8,000 African military personnel in Somalia, but the current troop level is below that ceiling, dpa quoted Augustine Mahiga, UN special envoy for Somalia as saying. He said the dire situation in the country would require a force level in the coming months of up to 20,000 troops, which the AU's Peace and Security Council plans to request soon from the 15-country Security Council in New York. Mahiga reported on the repeated attacks by insurgents against the transitional federal government in Mogadishu, while the humanitarian situation remains "dire." He said the sustained attacks by insurgents have compounded the suffering of civilians in the capital. He said Somalis have had to flee the capital in growing numbers, seeking refuge in neighbouring countries. "The international community ought to make more assistance available to address the persisting humanitarian crisis," Mahiga said.
