The speaker of Somalia's parliament quit on Sunday from being the head of government delegation at planned peace talks with the Mogadishu-based Islamist movement, jeopardizing efforts to restore normalcy in the lawless nation.

According to lawmaker Mustaf Duhulow, the Speaker Sharif Hassan Sheikh Adan's resignation came after Somali Premier Ali Mohamed Gedi sent a letter to the international community contesting Adan's role as the government's chief negotiator in Arab League-mediated peace talks scheduled to take place in the Sudanese capital at the end of this month.

"I can confirm the speaker of parliament has resigned in his capacity as the chairman of the government committee that is negotiating with the Islamic courts," Duhulow reportedly said.
 
"Ali Mohamed Gedi wrote letters to the international community telling them the speaker does not represent the government," Duhulow said. However, both Gedi and the speaker could not be reached for comments.

The interim government last met their Islamist rivals in Khartoum on June 22, when they agreed to stop military campaigns, recognize each other and meet again at the Arab League-sponsored talks.

But government allegations that the Islamists broke the pact against military expansion, and Islamist claims of Ethiopian interference in Somalia since last month's talks in Khartoum have stalled the discussions expected to resume on Oct. 30.

On Saturday, Gedi sacked a cabinet minister who allegedly participated in secretive talks with Islamist officials in Nairobi, Kenya.

The Islamists rose to power after seizing Mogadishu from warlords in June, becoming a potent threat to the government, racked by months of infighting and too weak to move from its temporary seat in Baidoa.

It would be the second meeting since Gedi named a slimmed down cabinet on Aug. 21 if the interim government would ever attend the Khartoum talks.

(Xinhua News Agency October 16, 2006)