Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the current security situation in the Gedo region of southern Somalia; and what discussions they have had at the UN with the governments of Ethiopia and Kenya in view of their respective support for the Federal Government of Somalia and the Jubaland regional state.

The UK is concerned by the instability in Gedo, where clashes between forces of the Federal Government of Somalia (FGS) and the Somali Federal Member State (FMS) of Jubaland in February and March reportedly displaced 56,000 people and killed at least ten, including civilians. We have consistently underlined the need for urgent political dialogue between the FGS and FMS (including Jubaland) to build consensus and longer-term stability; and for Somalia's regional neighbours to engage constructively with the FGS and FMS to pursue their common goal of long-term stability. We raised this issue at UN Security Council meetings on 24 February and 21 May.