Somalia: PM Sharmake receives UN delegation in Mogadishu

[Netanel]

A United Nations delegation visited Somalia's war-torn capital Mogadishu on Thursday, where they were received by Prime Minister Omar Abdirashid Ali Sharmake, Radio Garowe reports.

The UN delegation was led by Mr. Charles Petrie, Deputy U.N. Special Envoy to Somalia, and included Mr. Mark Bowden, the Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator for Somalia.

The meeting was held at the Villa Somalia presidential compound in Mogadishu, where the two sides discussed humanitarian relief efforts among other topics.

"Discussions included a proposal to train 18,000 government workers," Prime Minister Sharmake said, adding that the UN delegation "accepted" the plan.

Mr. Petrie said the delegation's first visit to Mogadishu since Sharmake's government came to power in January is intended to form a "common front" in the effort to help the people of Somalia.

The safety of aid workers, who have been targeted often in south-central Somalia, was also a key discussion point, according to Mr. Bowden.

The U.N. estimates that 3 million people in Somalia are in need of humanitarian assistance, with emerging reports indicating reports of widespread drought in different regions of the Horn of Africa country.

Prime Minister Sharmake's government is the 15th attempt to restore national order in Somalia since civil war erupted in 1991.