UN mission urges dialogue ahead of Somalia's election consultative forum

MOGADISHU, Feb. 2 (Xinhua) -- A United Nations (UN) mission have called on leaders in Somalia to resolve outstanding issues ahead of the national consultative forum on elections, which was scheduled on Sunday in Mogadishu, the capital of Somalia.

All parties should work together to find a collective solution to an incident in which flights carrying security officers for the leaders of Somalia's Jubaland and Puntland were turned back from Mogadishu on Sunday, the UN Transitional Assistance Mission in Somalia (UNTMIS) said in a statement issued on Sunday.

"UNTMIS regrets that advance teams from Puntland and Jubaland could not arrive for the national consultative forum scheduled to begin in Mogadishu, as the necessary technical clearances were not granted," said the UNTMIS.

It urged the rapid completion of the preparatory work by the technical teams and further efforts by the federal government and the Somali Future Council, a political alliance that includes Puntland and Jubaland leaders, to resolve the situation.

"We strongly encourage all sides to prioritize the agreed dialogue forum to reach consensus on elections and other national issues ahead of the upcoming end of constitutional mandates," the UN mission said.

Somali leaders were due to attend a national consultative meeting on elections and other national issues called by President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud.

Somali Defense Minister Ahmed Moallim Fiqi reportedly said there was no need to bring armed security guards to the airport since the government was responsible for the leaders' safety, saying the display of weapons and armed units in hotels around the airport was "not acceptable."

The incident occurred amid a heightened political crisis linked to disputes over Somalia's electoral process and governance issues. ■