US appoints special envoy to Somalia

WASHINGTON, May 17 (Reuters) The United States has appointed a special envoy to Somalia to help the lawless country overcome violence, US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said today.

The new envoy is John Yates, a career diplomat for 40 years who now leads the Somalia unit at the US Embassy in Nairobi in neighboring Kenya.

A State Department official said Yates, a former US ambassador to Cameroon and Equatorial Guinea, Benin and Cape Verde who has had postings in a handful of other African countries, will continue his work from Kenya as Somalia is not safe enough for a US diplomatic presence.

''The United States is committed to helping Somalis develop their national institutions and overcome the legacy of violence and disorder of the past,'' said Rice in a statement announcing Yates' appointment.

''By supporting the people of Somalia in this effort, we are also contributing to the peace and stability of the Horn of Africa, and to the African continent as a whole,'' she added.

Somalia has been in anarchy since the 1991 fall of dictator Mohamed Siad Barre. The current Western-backed transitional government is the 14th attempt at establishing central authority.

Islamist militia captured the capital Mogadishu from warlords last year but they were ousted over the New Year by forces of the interim government, bolstered by Ethiopian troops.

Somali and Ethiopian troops have since been battling insurgents and hundreds of civilians have been killed in Mogadishu's worst violence in 16 years. There have also recently been a spate of bombings by rebels who have vowed an Iraq-style insurgency.

The United States views Somalia as strategically important in its fight against al Qaeda and is concerned the Horn of Africa country is a safe haven for the militant group and could be used a springboard for attacks.

Last January, US warplanes conducted several strikes in Somalia targeting al Qaeda leadership. It was Washington's first overt military intervention in Somalia since a disastrous peacekeeping mission that ended in 1994.

Reuters SM VP0315