UK appoints envoy to Somalia as Foreign Secretary visits

British Foreign Secretary William Hague has called for renewed pressure against Islamist militants in Somalia.

Mr Hague, the first British Foreign Secretary to visit the troubled Horn of Africa state in 20 years, also announced the appointment of Mr Matt Baugh as a senior UK Somalia representative.

The appointment comes just ahead of a February 23 global conference on Somalia that the UK is hosting.

Mr Hague's arrival in the capital, Mogadishu, amid tight security, signalled the start of a major diplomatic push to restore stability in the country.

He praised African Union troops for forcing Al-Shabaab out of the city.

But he warned that much of the south remained in the hands of the militants, saying: "We need to step this up".

After meeting Somali President Sharif Sheikh Ahmed at the presidential palace in Mogadishu, Mr Hague described Somalia as "the world's most failed state".

The country has been torn apart by two decades of war, beset by drought and famine and is home to a piracy industry that threatens shipping across the Indian Ocean.

But analysts say the military fortunes of Al-Shabaab have dramatically worsened in the last year.

Mr Hague's visit followed another sign of growing international confidence in the improving security situation - at least in Mogadishu - the UN special envoy to Somalia has moved his office back from neighbouring Kenya to the city - after an absence of 17 years.

Liberian embassy
Meanwhile the British Government has announced the pending reopening of its embassy in Monrovia to regain it lost influence.

The announcement came on Thursday, through a statement by the British Foreign Secretary William Hague.
"Re-opening a British embassy in Liberia strengthens our voice at a critical time and enables us to support the process of peace-building and national reconciliation in this important African country,” Mr Hague said.

Britain closed its embassy in the West African country in 1991 when the Liberian civil war erupted. In 2003, the UK started running its mission there through a political officer who reports to its High Commission in Freetown, Sierra Leone.

The decision to reopen its embassy, according to the statement, came after Liberia held a successful poll that saw the inauguration of President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf for a second and final term. It noted though, that it would cost marginally more to run an embassy in Monrovia than it would through an employed political officer.

"Since the closure of our embassy in 1991, our influence in Liberia has been limited. A fully-accredited ambassador will be able to work closely with President Johnson Sirleaf's government as it works to push forward her programme of reform and national reconciliation," the statement reads in part.