Somali's Prime Minister Pleads For Aid To Combat al Shabaab

Somalia's newly appointed Prime Minister Abdi Farah Shirdon Saaid addresses members of the parliament after his introduction in Mogadishu October 17, 2012. REUTERS/Ismail Taxta

Somali Prime Minister Calls For Aid To Combat al Shabaab -- Reuters

(Reuters) - Somalia's prime minister appealed on Tuesday for international support to combat al Shabaab militants but said a military solution to their insurgency alone was not enough.

Addressing the U.N. Human Rights Council in Geneva , Abdi Farah Shirdon denounced what he called the "cowardly attack" by al Shabaab militants on a shopping mall in the Kenyan capital Nairobi and said those responsible must be held accountable.

He praised the 17,000-strong African peacekeeping force deployed in Somalia for improving security and fighting al Shabaab, who he said were now weakened.

But Somalia, emerging from two decades of civil war, still faced many challenges, he said.

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My Comment: Somalia is by every definition a failed state .... his plead for aid will be answered .... but Somalia has decades to go before it becomes a safe and functional state.