MOGADISHU (Halbeeg News) – UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Thursday appointed new UN envoy to Somalia barely four months after the Horn of Africa nation expelled the former UN diplomat.
In a statement by the UN, James Swan was named to serve the new Special Envoy for Somalia.
Mr. Swan served as United States ambassador to DRC and Djibouti.
Swan will be the second American to serve as U.N. envoy for Somalia after Jonathan Howe in 1993 and 1994.
His predecessor, Nicholas Haysom was early this year expelled after being accused of “shaming” the world body by acting like the country’s ruler.
Somali government had accused the South African lawyer and experienced diplomat of interfering the country’s internal affairs.
He was appointed as UN chief Antonio Guterres’ special representative for Somalia in September 2018 and was assigned the task of helping to achieve peace in the country.
Mr. Haysom had raised concern about the killing of protesters allied with ex-Shabaab leader Mukhtar Robow.
He wrote a letter indicating that Security forces were allegedly involved in the deaths of about 15 of the protesters and the detention of about 300 people after the government arrested Robow.
The UN provides training, uniforms, and stipends to its security forces, who are battling al-Shabab group which mans remote areas in the south and central Somalia.
Discussion about this post