Somalia’s Future Is Held Hostage : Fratricidal war continues to make U.N. peacekeepers virtual captives

Security remains elusive in famine-stricken Somalia. U.N troops sent a month ago to restore peace remain virtual captives in their tents at the end of a runway at the main airport. While the soldiers remain powerless hostages of the fratricidal fighting, that airport--a key depot for urgently needed relief shipments--remains closed.

The peace-seeking efforts have been hampered further by the controversial resignation of the chief U.N. representative in Somalia.

Special Representative Mohammed Sahnoun, an experienced Algerian diplomat who conducted a form of shuttle diplomacy between Somali warlords, was replaced a week ago after U.N. Secretary General Boutros Boutros-Ghali reprimanded him in writing for, among other things, publicly criticizing the United Nations’ initially slow response to the Somali crisis, most notably on the CBS news show “60 Minutes.” Although Sahnoun did not end the fighting, he earned respect from the warlords, especially Mohamed Farah Aidid, a major obstructionist to peace.

Aidid, one of the country’s leading warlords, is based at least temporarily in the capital city of Mogadishu. He opposes the deployment of the U.N. troops, who could stop the massive theft of relief supplies and ensure the delivery of tons of food and medicine. He also contends that relief operations interfere in the internal affairs of Somalia. Taking steps to save children cannot rightly be construed as interference.

As many as 300,000 Somalis have died from starvation or the fighting in the nearly two years since the dictator Mohammed Siad Barre was ousted. To relieve the suffering, Secretary General Boutros-Ghali and the world community must insist on the immediate deployment of the peacekeeping troops.