UN chief outlines plan for possible dispatch of UN troops to Somalia AFP

UN chief Ban Ki-moon said in a report issued Tuesday that he was prepared to recommend sending UN peacekeepers to strife-torn Somalia if some key conditions are met.

The conditions include "a viable and inclusive political process and an agreement on the cessation of hostilities," he noted in a report detailing possible alternatives to the African Union (AU) peace force known as AMISOM currently in Somalia.

Under this scenario, the Ethiopian troops currently propping up the Somali government in its battle with Islamist insurgents "would have withdrawn or would be in the process of doing so."

"A military technical agreement in support of peace would have been signed by the major clans and factions, which would list security arrangements, such as certain certain to achieve disarmament, in respect of heavy weapons as a minimum, and non-violent settlement of disputes," the report said.

Ban released the report in response to calls for greater UN involvement in Somalia made by the AU and some members of the Security Council.

The deployment of up to 28,500 UN troops and police was one of four scenarios worked out by UN planners who sent a fact-finding team to the volatile Horn of Africa country which has been wracked by civil war for more than 16 years.

The team conducted a thorough analysis of the security situation there.

Last month, the UN Security Council voted to extend for another six months the mandate of AMISOM.

AMISOM, which currently consists of roughly 2,300 troops from Uganda and Burundi according to Ban, is ultimately to number around 8,000 soldiers tasked with stabilizing Somalia.