NAIROBI, Kenya, Aug. 2 (UPI) -- The senior United Nations envoy to Somalia says dialogue between political antagonists is essential if Somalia is to move beyond violence.
"The Security Council has repeatedly emphasized the need to establish a comprehensive and verifiable cease-fire," the envoy, Francois Lonseny Fall, said Tuesday in Nairobi, at an emergency meeting of African countries to address the issue.
"It is necessary to have the agreement of all parties not to engage in hostilities in any form and for their forces to remain in place and not make any move that could be seen by others to be provocative," he said.
Fall also suggested that once an agreement has been reached there may be a role for a neutral peace mission to observe the cease-fire.
Fall described this moment in Somalia's history as a "critical stage" in its political development and stressed the importance of wider diplomacy. Somalia has not had a functioning government since President Mohammed Siad Barre's regime was toppled in 1991.
Renewed fighting broke out early this summer and in June the Islamic Courts Union succeeded in driving the ruling warlords out of Mogadishu and much of Somalia.
"Every step that we as the international community take can either improve or worsen the situation on the ground," he said.
"Any decision we take can make all the difference between the consolidation of peace or its unraveling. It is therefore very important to take each step with due consideration and extreme care and to refrain from any action that could exacerbate the tense situation in Somalia," Fall said.
Somalia has attracted international attention as a possible next frontier in the American-led war on terror for allegedly providing a safe haven for al-Qaida operatives in Mogadishu.
