The United Nations envoy to Somalia on Tuesday went to Mogadishu in a bid to rejuvenate peace talks that have been clouded by a deadly insurgency.
Francois Lonseny Fall told more than 1 000 delegates at a peace conference there was international backing for the new initiative to restore stability to Somalia, which has been torn apart by more than 16 years of clan and religious warfare.
”We are here to show you the support we are giving to this reconciliation congress,” he said.
”The UN and the international community will contribute whatever technical assistance is needed to ensure that you reach decisions for peace,” Fall added, encouraging delegates to discuss all sticking points that range from power-sharing to disarmament.
”This is a rare reconciliation conference so that you must take advantage of.”
Hard-line Islamists and rebellious clan elders boycotted the conference, dismissing its legitimacy. They plan to organise their own talks in Eritrea on September 1.
The peace talks, which opened in mid-July, have been clouded by attacks and clashes in Mogadishu, pitting Islamist insurgents against government troops and their backers from Ethiopia and an African Union peacekeeping force.
A violent clan-based power struggle that erupted after the 1991 ouster of dictator Mohamed Siad Barre has helped sink more than a dozen peace initiatives. — AFP
