Nairobi (Sunatimes) Kenyan president Mwai Kibaki and the U.N Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon at the UN headquarters in New York, US September 20, 2011/ Kenyan Presidential Press Service (PPS)

Kenya’s president Mwai Kibaki has called on the United Nations agencies and international organisations to assist the drought and famine-hit Somalis in their country.

The president made the assertion during a meeting with the United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon at the UN Headquarters in New York on Tuesday.

Kibaki said helping Somalis inside their country will not only reduce the flow of refugees as well as undesirable elements into his country but also serve to legitimise the Transitional Federal Government (TFG) of Somalia.

He called on the UN to send its peacekeepers in Somalia, noting that the recent developments in Somalia, including the withdrawal of the Al-Shabaab from Mogadishu, provide a unique opportunity to resolve the political and security crisis in the country.

The Kenyan president also urged the international community to support the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) in its efforts to restore peace and stability in Somalia.

President Kibaki, briefed the UN Secretary General on the Horn of Africa Summit hosted by his country recently in Nairobi to deliberate on the recurrent problem of drought and famine in the region.

He said the summit came up with medium and long term strategies for eradicating the scourge of drought and famine and expressed hope that the UN will support the Nairobi Action Plan agreed upon by regional leaders.