Opposition rivals Somalia refuse to talk

  1. Posted on Tuesday 29 July 2008 - 07:34
    deodatus
    deofuga@yahoo.com
    Deodatus Mfugale, AfricaNews Reporter in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania
    Somalia's exiled Islamist groups have refused to negotiate with a rival faction that signed a peace agreement with the country's transitional government, a situation which could complicate the peace process in a country that has been in civil strife for more that a decade.
    Guled Hussein25
    Hard-line Islamist leader Sheikh Hassan Dahir Aweys said on Monday that the opposition exiled in Eritrea see reconciliation as crucial in restoring peace in the war-torn country " but we and the Djibouti group have reached a point of no return."
    Speaking from Asmara Aweys said that there was no way the two groups could sit together after the faction in Djibouti signed a peace deal with the government which is backed by foreign forces.

    A moderate Islamist faction led by Sheikh Sharif Ahmed signed a pact with the interim government last month, which required, among other things, the withdrawal of Ethiopian troops from Somalia and the deployment of U.N. peacekeepers. Some Islamist insurgents do not recognize the deal.

    Running battles between Islamists and Somali government backed by Ethiopian troops have been going on since 2007 after Ethiopia sent thousands of soldiers to help Somalia's administration oust the Islamic Courts movement led by Aweys and Ahmed.

    Southern Somali has been hard hit by violence, forcing many aid groups to suspend their operations.

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