IGAD Heads of State Summit Concludes In Mogadishu With Member Countries' Renewed Commitment To Support Somalia

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IGAD Heads of State Summit Concludes In Mogadishu With Member Countries' Renewed Commitment To Support Somalia

The 28th extra-ordinary session of the Inter-Governmental Authority on Development (IGAD) Assembly of Heads of State and Government concluded in Mogadishu, Somalia, this evening, with a declaration of renewed commitment by its member countries to con

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The 28th extra-ordinary session of the Inter-Governmental Authority on Development (IGAD) Assembly of Heads of State and Government concluded in Mogadishu, Somalia, this evening, with a declaration of renewed commitment by its member countries to continue support towards stabilizing the nation and endorsement of an upcoming electoral process.

The high-profile meeting was represented by Ethiopia’s Prime Minister H.E Hailemariam Desalegn, who is also the chairperson of the IGAD Assembly, Kenya’s President H.E Uhuru Muigai Kenyatta, Uganda’s President H.E Yoweri Kaguta Museveni, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Djibouti, H.E Mohamed Yousif Abdelmannan and Sudan’s ambassador to Somalia H.E Mahboub Mohamed Maalim.

In a communique released at the end of the one-day summit, IGAD Heads of State and governments welcomed the Somali government’s commitment to a credible and inclusive electoral process.

"(We) encouraged all Somalis to participate in the 2016 electoral process and hope that free and fair elections are conducted within the timelines,” the communique stated.

The IGAD heads requested the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) to provide "all necessary security” for the electoral process, which will culminate in a presidential vote on 30th October 2016.

The summit condemned continued attacks against the civilian population by the terrorist group Al-Shabaab and urged Somali security forces and AMISOM, to expand their operations, to enable them deal with the group’s "evolving terror threats”.

Degrading Al-Shabaab is a key mandate of AMISOM, which together with the Somali security forces have pushed out the militants from all the country’s major towns.

The joint forces continue with military operations to flush Al-Shabaab from pockets of territory it still occupies in Gedo, lower Juba and middle Shabelle regions.