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U.N. Arab League envoy warns of `Somalization of Syria`
The UN and Arab League envoy to Syria, Lakhdar Brahimi, has said he fears the country could `turn into a new Somalia` if the civil war is not ended soon.
U.N. Arab League envoy warns of ‘Somalization of Syria’
Washington: The UN and Arab League envoy to Syria, Lakhdar Brahimi, has said he fears the country could ‘turn into a new Somalia’ if the civil war is not ended soon.
Brahimi said that Syria could become like Somalia where Al-Qaeda-linked militants and warlords battled for decades after the ouster of a dictator.
According to Fox News, Brahimi, who, like his predecessor Kofi Annan has been unable to put an end to the conflict, warned the civil war could spiral into new levels of chaos.
“The situation in Syria is very dangerous,” Brahimi said in remarks published Tuesday in the pan-Arab daily Al Hayat.
“I believe that if the crisis is not solved ... there will be the danger of Somalization. It will mean the fall of the state, rise of warlords and militias,” he added.
According to the report, Somalia has been mired in conflict for over two decades after warlords overthrew the east African nation``s longtime dictator in 1991 and then turned on each other.
The government, backed by African Union troops, is currently battling Islamist extremist rebels linked to Al-Qaeda.
ANI