New UN leader worried by US air attacks in Somalia

UNITED NATIONS, Jan 10 (Reuters) New UN leader Ban Ki-moon is concerned that US military strikes in Somalia could lead to an escalation of the fighting there and harm civilians, the United Nations said.

''Notwithstanding the motives for this reported military action, the secretary-general is concerned about the new dimension this kind of action could introduce to the conflict and the possible escalation of hostilities that may result,'' chief UN spokeswoman Michele Montas said.

''He is also concerned about the impact this could have on the civilian population in southern Somalia and regrets the reported loss of civilian lives,'' Montas said.

Ban, a South Korean, became UN secretary-general on January 1 with strong US support, succeeding Ghanaian Kofi Annan.

Somali officials yesterday said that US planes had carried out two strikes against al Qaeda suspects in southern Somalia.

They said the attacks -- Washington's first overt military intervention in Somalia since a disastrous peacekeeping mission ended in 1994 -- had killed many people.

A Pentagon spokesman confirmed one Somalia air attack on Sunday against the top al Qaeda leadership in east Africa. He would not comment on whether the raid was successful but said it was based on ''credible intelligence.'' The apparent targets were near the Kenyan border, where hundreds of Islamists fled after their defeat by Ethiopian and transitional government forces in a lightning war in late December that ended six months of Islamic rule.

Montas, responding to reporters' questions, could not immediately say whether the attacks violated a widely flouted arms embargo imposed on Somalia by the UN Security Council in 1992.

Nor could she whether the world body considered the attacks to be targeted assassinations in violation of international law, such as those the United Nations has frequently accused Israel of conducting in military strikes on Palestinian militants in civilian areas.

Reuters DKS VP0427