Sharif Hassan TFG Parliament Speaker (Left) and Leader of UIC Consultative Council, Hassan Dahir Aweys (centre) and UIC head of foreign relations Professor Ibrahim Hassan Adow (left) sign agreements in Mogadishu on Saturday

By Aweys Osman Yusuf

Mogadishu 25, Nov.06 – Decisions have been issued unanimously in a press conference held by the Union of Islamic Courts consultative council leader Sheik Hassan Dahir Aweys and the government’s parliament speaker Sharif Hassan Sheik Aden in the capital Mogadishu.

The Islamic Courts and the parliament members in Mogadishu have agreed on at least six articles that are supposed to facilitate the resumption of Khartoum peace talks.

Both groups have called on the Ethiopian government to withdraw its troops from Somali. Islamists accused Ethiopia of deploying thousands of military troops to Somalia, a blame Ethiopia denies.

Talks that will take place between the regional body, IGAD, and the Union of Islamic courts prior to Khartoum talks was also deemed important to tackle the discord between IGAD and Islamists that insisted on the removal of IGAD in the Sudan talks arbitration early this November, which concluded in failure.

Appointing committees from the transitional government and Islamists was also agreed.

The committees were assigned to avert feuds that may agitate the resumption of Sudan peace talks by working on power sharing process between the government and Islamists that could not compromise on conditions both presented early November.

Somalia has had no government since 1991 when warlords toppled former president Siad Barre.

The Islamic Courts have told journalists in the press meeting that they would talk with the government in the Sudanese capital Khartoum next month without conditions.

Parliament speaker Aden and senior Islamist Aweys reiterated that Ethiopia should pull its troops out of the country, alleging it would be a solution and understanding between Islamists and the government.

Experts say Somalia could become a proxy battleground for two a long time rival rancorous enemies, Ethiopia and Eritrea, that fought on their borders in 1998 until 2000.

Ethiopia and Eritrea were among the top ten countries supplying arms in Somalia as mentioned in UN report.

Following the press conference, speaker Aden along with entourages flew to Djibouti, a country accused of providing Islamists with arms.

Aden and Aweys called on the international community, the Arab League, EU, US and IGAD to try to halt the nearing war that may explode between Ethiopia and Union of Islamic Courts and to make the recommencement of Khartoum talks possible.

Source: Shabelle Media Network

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