Donors aim to stabilize Somalia as piracy worsens

By David Brunnstrom

BRUSSELS, April 23 (Reuters - International donors meet in Brussels on Thursday to pledge funds to boost security in Somalia and discuss ways of tackling pirate attacks on foreign vessels by gangs operating there.

Organizers of the meeting, to be chaired by U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon and the African Union, say more than $250 million is needed for next year to improve security in a state which has functioned without a central government since 1991 and is mired in conflict.

Also attending will be Somali President Sheikh Sharif, a former Islamist rebel leader elected in January at U.N.-brokered talks and widely seen as the best hope for restoring stability.

The U.N. Special Representative for Somalia Ahmedou Ould-Abdallah told Reuters this week he hoped the meeting, involving dozens of countries and big international organizations, could agree on a 100-day plan to help Somalia build up its security forces and restore stability.

Somali gangs have made millions of dollars seizing vessels in the Gulf of Aden and Indian Ocean, driving up insurance rates and other costs in the key sea lanes linking Europe to Asia.

The attacks have worsened, despite the presence of naval forces from more than a dozen states, including task forces under NATO, EU and U.S. command.

NATO's four-ship mission is due to wind up its operation on Thursday. Diplomats are discussing if it can be extended.

A NATO spokesman said alliance Secretary-General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer was also pressing for a longer-term mission and tougher rules to allow the detention of captured suspects.