U.N. Chief Asks for Mass Relief for Somalia

In his first major international initiative, U.N. Secretary General Boutros Boutros-Ghali on Friday proposed a massive relief and peacekeeping operation for the starving nation of Somalia.

Coming the day after he rebuked the Security Council for focusing too much on Yugoslavia, Boutros-Ghali’s proposal marked a turn away from the priorities of the 15-nation U.N. Security Council, which has been dominated by the United States and Europe.

Boutros-Ghali, an Egyptian, became the first African secretary general of the United Nations in January. He has said the world body must address the needs and crises in the developing world.

In his report, he called for an urgent airlift to the Somali interior, saying millions are threatened with starvation because of tribal warfare and lack of government.

He said he would dispatch a technical team to Somalia as soon as possible to study the feasibility of expanding U.N. operations into four regions around the country.

His proposal must be approved by the Security Council. It was not known when the council would consider his report.

On Thursday, Boutros-Ghali admonished the council for trying to expand U.N. peacekeeping in Bosnia-Herzegovina without consulting him first, and said Somalia is equally in need of help and has received far less.

The council has approved 15,600 peacekeepers for Yugoslavia and an airlift for Sarajevo, and last week called for further U.N. deployments around Sarajevo. But Boutros-Ghali disapproved the plan, saying the United Nations lacks the resources.

The Security Council on Friday again asked Boutros-Ghali to seek more troops and resources from European nations for Bosnia-Herzegovina. But in deference to Boutros-Ghali, the council’s statement urged the European Community “to enhance their cooperation with the secretary general.”