Uganda, Ethiopia root for dialogue to end Somalia's chronic instability

ADDIS ABABA (AFP) — Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni appealed for inter-Somali dialogue to help return stability in Somalia and urged the world community to only provide financial backing. At a joint press conference with his host Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi, Museveni decried the world's neglect of Somalia, which has been wracked by violence since dictator Mohamed Siad Barre was toppled in 1991.

"The international community is specialised in mediation, but Somalis can have their own dialogue," Museveni said. "There is no need for international community dialogue, what we need is the international community money," he added. "We noted that events in Somalia were neglected by the international community." Museveni said Uganda was ready to deploy peacekeepers to Somalia, where government troops backed by Ethiopian forces this week ousted an Islamist movement that had rapidly expanded since it seized the capital in June. "Uganda has been ready since January 2005 ...