SECRETARY-GENERAL DEEPLY CONCERNED AT REPORTS OF INCREASING VIOLENCE IN SOMALIA

The following statement was issued today by the Spokesman for UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan:

The Secretary-General is deeply concerned at recent reports of increasing violence in Mogadishu, which has caused the deaths of over a hundred people and the displacement of thousands of non-combatants.

The Secretary-General calls on the warring factions to cease fire immediately.  He also urges all parties to support the Transitional Federal Institutions in their effort to implement the Transitional Charter.

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For information media • not an official record