Somali insurgents take their positions in Tarabuunka in Mogadishu, July 23, 2009. ((Mowlid Abdi/Reuters))

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon called on all countries Thursday to provide urgent military support to Somalia's embattled transitional government, warning that its survival is at stake.

Two allied Islamist insurgent groups — al-Shabab and the Islamic Party — launched an offensive that has killed hundreds of Somalis and forced tens of thousands to flee their homes.

Ban said the violence has worsened the humanitarian crisis in the country, with at least 3.2 million people — 43 per cent of Somalia's population — requiring food and other aid.

Ban Ki-moon is calling on all countries to provide urgent military support to Somalia's government. ((Lee Jin-man/Associated Press))

The fragile UN-backed government and an undermanned, poorly resourced African Union peacekeeping force have struggled to defend government buildings, the port and airport in the capital, Mogadishu. The government holds only a few blocks in the city.

In a quarterly report to the UN Security Council, Ban appealed to the international community "not to waver in the face of the recent upsurge in fighting."

"The coming days and weeks will be critical," the secretary-general said. "The government clearly needs urgent military support in areas of personnel, arms and logistics to sustain its success in warding off insurgent attacks and defending key installations."

"I, therefore, appeal to the entire international community to render urgent support to the government of Somalia, without which it may not be able to establish itself," Ban said.

Relief comes slowly

The transitional government led by President Sheik Sharif Sheik Ahmed has called for military and other assistance, but the response has been slow, though the U.S. government sent 40 tonnes of weapons last month.

As of June 30, the AU force in Mogadishu had 4,300 troops from Uganda and Burundi, just 54 per cent of its authorized strength of 8,000. Ban said steps are under way to deploy a third battalion from Burundi. Sierra Leone and Malawi each pledged a battalion in June, but he said they need logistical support before they can deploy.

The secretary-general said it is important that donors who pledged more than $213 million US in April to support the AU force and Somalia's security institutions honour their commitments — and he called for additional support to strengthen the peacekeeping force.

The Government of Canada has provided more than $35 million Cdn in development assistance to Somalia since 2006, according to a government website.

Somalia has not had a functioning government since the ouster of a longtime dictator in 1991 and is riven by fighting among clan warlords and an Islamist insurgency that gained momentum in 2006 and has killed thousands of civilians and sent hundreds of thousands fleeing for their lives.

Ban said he was "deeply concerned by attempts to use force and violence to topple the transitional federal government," stressing that they "must not be allowed to succeed."

"Insurgent groups, such as al-Shabab, are alleged to be extorting money from private companies and recruiting young people to join the fight against the government in Mogadishu, including child soldiers," he said.

As a result of the recent fighting, Ban said, there has also been a marked deterioration in the human rights situation with reports that insurgents have used civilians as human shields, which may constitute a war crime.