1. (C) Pol/Econ delivered reftel demarche 2 March to Director
of Bilateral Relations at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs,
Mohamed Ali Hassan. Hassan stated there would be a
Ministerial level meeting of Intergovernmental Authority on
Development (IGAD) member states in Nairobi during March to
review the Somalia situation. He said the main issue
addressed in the meeting would likely be security. The
meetings will also address the debate over whether to send
troops from neighboring countries as a part of peace keeping
forces. Hassan said Ethiopia, being more interested than
other neighboring states to send its troops on a peacekeeping
mission in Somalia, was a worry for Somalia and the
international community. He added Djibouti had said it was
ready to send its troops as part of the IGAD peace mission if
asked, but the general idea of this mission has changed now.
Djibouti does not think neighboring countries should send
troops. Hassan said a consensus on the issue within IGAD is
necessary before any troops are sent. He added his personal
opinion that the African Union (AU), IGAD and the Security
Council of the AU will make the right decision.
RAGSDALE