AMISOM DEMARCHE: ROYG RESPONDS SOMALI FORCES NEED

C O N F I D E N T I A L SANAA 000504

SIPDIS

FOR AF/RSA:MSKARDON AND CTRINGALE AND NEA/ARP:AMACDONALD

E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/23/2019
TAGS: PREL PREF KPKO SO YM
SUBJECT: AMISOM DEMARCHE: ROYG RESPONDS SOMALI FORCES NEED
HELP MORE THAN AMISOM

REF: STATE 27288

Classified By: CDA Angie Bryan for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d)


1. (C) POL/E Chief delivered reftel demarche to Abdulhakim
al-Iryani, Director of the Foreign Minister's Office. Iryani
said that he was pleased that the USG was engaging countries
in the region on Somalia. He asserted that the piracy,
terrorism, and refugee flows coming out of that country are
the direct result of the absence of a stable government
there. He complained that the international community
ignored Somalia's plight for 16 years and began to show
interest only when international terrorism brought Somalia's
problems to the doorsteps of the West.


2. (C) He urged the USG to think seriously about AMISOM and
ask if it is capable of achieving a secure and safe Somalia.
He asserted that a more effective policy would be to support
the country's attempts to build an indigenous army and police
force. To this end he said that Yemen, already a poor
country and recipient of assistance, is contributing from its
meager assets to provide fledgling Somali forces with
uniforms, training and monetary support for salaries. "We
think of it as an investment," he said. He went on to note
that anything the ROYG can do to keep Somalis in Somalia will
help ease the "large burden" Yemen carries from Somali
refugees.
BRYAN