Outside intervention in Somalia has a dismal history. The killing of U.S. troops there in late 1993 in the "Black Hawk Down" battle marked the beginning of the end for a U.S.-U.N. peacekeeping force that left Somalia in 1995.
African countries have rushed to pledge troops for an expanded peacekeeping mission in Sudan's Darfur region, though pledges to send troops to Somalia remain unfulfilled.
"The problem with Somalia may be less visible today, having been overshadowed by the conflict in Darfur, but the Somali crisis is far from over," Kenyan Foreign Minister Raphael Tuju told the General Assembly on Tuesday.
"Kenya urges the United Nations to assume greater responsibility in Somalia," said Tuju, who is due to brief the U.N. Security Council on Somalia on Wednesday.
"United Nations presence on the ground in Somalia would compliment regional and international efforts to promote peace, stability and reconciliation in Somalia," he said.
The foreign minister of Congo Republic, Basile Ikouebe, also raised Somalia at the General Assembly on Tuesday, saying: "Somalia must not become a forgotten crisis."
In August, the U.N. Security Council authorized the AU force for another six months and asked the secretary-general to develop plans for a possible U.N. troop replacement.
Few expect the United Nations to field a large force rather than just provide financial or technical support to the AU.
Fahiye said this year's national reconciliation conference was a success "despite disruptive intimidations by terrorist elements." But he said the government's efforts would not produce results without international financial support.
He called for an international donor conference to back nation-building efforts and for funds for humanitarian relief.
