UNITED NATIONS, Jan. 11 (UPI) -- The U.N. Security Council is calling for greater humanitarian assistance and more inclusive political dialogue in Somalia.
The 15-member panel also reiterated its backing for the creation of an African protection and training mission to the volatile nation.
Following a closed-door briefing Wednesday from Undersecretary-General for Political Affairs Ibrahim Gambari, Ambassador Vitaly Churkin of Russia, this month's council president, said members regarded the situation in Somalia as one of its top priorities.
The United Nations announced Tuesday it was sending a humanitarian assessment mission to Somalia's border area with Kenya, where thousands of internally displaced persons have gathered to escape fighting between the Transitional Federal Government and supporters of the Islamic Courts Union.
The assessment team will examine how to restart humanitarian deliveries into Somalia and how to handle the large-scale population movements that have followed the intense fighting in recent weeks as the government, backed by Ethiopian troops, has reclaimed the capital, Mogadishu.
Aid operations had to be suspended and international staff evacuated because of the dangers posed by the fighting.
Churkin told reporters council members agreed inclusive political dialogue among Somalia's various political forces is necessary to end the deadly clashes and alleviate the humanitarian situation in one of Africa's most impoverished nations.
Last month the council unanimously adopted a resolution authorizing the creation of an African protection and training mission to help protect Somalia's transitional federal institutions.
To be known as IGASOM, the new force is to be set up by the African Union and the Intergovernmental Authority on Development, an East African group, and will have an initial mandate of six months. No countries bordering Somalia will be able to deploy troops in the Horn of Africa nation.
