The Somali prime minister said his government has sufficient troops to recapture rebel-held territories in south and central Somalia. But in interview with the VOA, Prime Minister Omar Sharma’arke cautioned that such a plan could take considerable time.
“We have to expand the rule of the law,” said Sharma’arke. “We have to restore modicum of stability by any means. That’s part of our mandate.”
A cabinet delegation led by Sharma’arke is participating at a UN-sponsored conference on food security and agriculture being held in Rome. The conference was in the words of Prime Minister Sharma’arke “a rare opportunity for Somali farmers who are the backbone of our community.”
On the security front, the prime minister said that his government will try to win over adversaries through political means, and will only deploy force as a last result.
“We’re not bent on the use of force,” he said. “We’ll exhaust other means to restore capacity. The solution belies on negotiations.”
On the tensions with Puntland, the Prime Minister appeared less concerned. Sharma’arke downplayed a growing rift between his government and the semi-autonomous region of Puntland. Last week, the president of that region stormed out of a meeting with the Somali president after they disagreed over resource sharing.
Prime Minister Sharma’arke said his government will sort the difference with Puntland.
