| Front Page |
Nairobi, February 5, 2004 (The Nation) – Action will be taken against Somali factional leaders who breach a peace deal signed last week.
Kenya's Foreign minister Kalonzo Musyoka said individuals "who cannot live with peace" in Somalia would face sanctions from the international community.
The minister was reacting to a claim by 18 out of the 24 leaders that they had rejected the accord whose signing was witnessed by President Kibaki.
Through the Somali Leaders Committee, they said earlier that the pact was different from the one agreed upon during a consultative meeting at the Safari Park Hotel, Nairobi, recently.
They said they signed the latter one because they did not want "to cause an embarrassment to President Kibaki".
"We would like to disown the accord as it is different in text and version from the one we approved. Many things were sneaked in," Gen Mohammed Said Hersi said after a leader read a signed statement to journalists at the Grand Regency Hotel, Nairobi.
During the signing of the accord which was seen by many as major breakthrough in the search for peace in the war-torn country, President Kibaki asked the leaders not to look back to the dark days.
But yesterday, Mr. Musyoka said: "The world cannot stand by for ever and witness continued destruction of Somalia."
Briefing reporters on the progress of the Somali National Reconciliation Conference, which started in Kenya in October 2002, Mr. Musyoka called on leaders of Puntland State and breakaway Somaliland to end tension that could escalate into a fresh conflict.
Somaliland is a section of the country, which has enjoyed relative peace since seceding from the larger Somalia.
He said the unity accord signed last week by factional leaders responsible for bringing the war-torn Somalia on its knees had given the talks a new momentum.
President Kibaki witnessed the signing of the peace breakthrough in Nairobi last week. Appending his own signature to the deal, he urged the leaders not to return to "the dark days".
The agreement established a federal system for five years under a transitional administration pending a new constitution.
Speaking from his Nairobi office, Mr Musyoka said: "The agreement not only has raised hope for all but also finally opens the doors to the final solution that we have all been waiting for." Somalia, the only country in the world without a government, has not experienced peace for the last 14 years since the fall of President Siad Barre regime.
Although 14 meetings similar to those ongoing in Kenya have been held in the past decade to help find a lasting peace, nothing has been forthcoming. The factional leaders have reneged on every pact.
Home | Contact us | Links | Archives