UNITED NATIONS, April 27: Expressing grave concern over intensified violence in Somalia, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on Thursday made an impassioned appeal to the international community to step up its assistance to the war-torn East African nation.

The country has been wracked by deadly clashes in recent weeks, and according to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), 340,000 people – roughly one-third of the city’s population – have fled the violence in the capital Mogadishu since the start of February, while at least

1,000 have sustained injuries.

“The international community should fully cooperate and give some concerted efforts to restore peace and security in that country,” Mr Ban told correspondents in New York.

“I am also very much troubled by the fact that the Transitional Federal Government is (not) able to sustain the momentum thus created politically,” Mr Ban noted.

He also urged for plans to convene a National Reconciliation Congress, which have been postponed until next month, to continue. Recognising that such a congress will have logistical and financial difficulties, he appealed to the international community for assistance.