Tension looms in Somalia as talks aimed at averting an all-out
war between the transitional government and increasingly powerful
Islamists have collapsed in Khartoum, Sudan.
The Arab-League mediated peace talks collapsed on Wednesday
night after the Supreme Council of Islamic Courts (SCIC) and
transitional government refused to meet face-to-face, the mediators
said in a statement received in Nairobi Thursday.
Analysts say a war between the militarily superior Islamists and
the government could draw in neighboring countries -- Ethiopia and
its arch rival Eritrea -- igniting existing regional bitterness
over boundary.
The analysts also fear a conflict which could engulf the entire
region is imminent but in a move to avert the looming war, the
mediators called for restraint and said further consultations were
needed to move the dialogue forward.
Eye witnesses and local reports from Somalia said Islamist
forces have taken control of another key Somali port.
Residents of Hobyo on the central Somali coast, about 500 km
from the capital Mogadishu, say there was no fighting as Islamists
entered the town Tuesday.
The transitional government's Foreign Minister Ismail Hurreh had
earlier denounced the Islamists as no longer partners for peace.
The foreign minister said there was a danger of all-out conflict in
the Horn of Africa.
He said his government hoped to avoid war but warned that
conflict would become inevitable if the Islamists continued on
their current path. The minister said countries in the region were
deeply concerned about the SCIC's declaration of "jihad" on their
neighbors.
And as talks stalled in Khartoum, Islamist forces remain
positioned near the interim government's base of Baidoa, prompting
officials there to prepare for a possible attack.
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The militia groups loyal to Somalia's Islamic courts have seized
control of much of the country's south since winning a battle for
the capital Mogadishu in June.
Somalia's interim government has international support but
virtually no power outside Baidoa.
The Islamists had indicated before the talks that they will not
negotiate until Ethiopian soldiers leave Somali territory. The
Islamists say Ethiopia has sent thousands of troops across the
border to protect the weak but United Nations backed Somali interim
government.
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However, Addis Ababa denies this, saying it has sent only a few
hundred military instructors.
With neither side willing to accept the other's preconditions
for talks, international mediators have called on both parties to
exercise restraint.
"The parties are urged to commit themselves to previous
agreements reached in Khartoum," a mediators statement issued after
the talks collapse, said.
"After long consultations with the two sides and the
international community, it was decided that the meeting should be
postponed and that (the talks) be held as soon as possible after
more meticulous preparations," said Samir Hosny, who heads the
African section of the Cairo-based Arab League.
Hosny said neither party was to blame for the failure of the
peace talks, and expressed hope that both sides would return to the
negotiating table in the future.
"We did not set a date or venue for any upcoming meetings, but
the sooner the meetings take place the better -- in a week or two.
But we did not set a date," he said.
He added that the decision to call off the talks indefinitely
was reached after the Arab League's consultations with both sides,
as well as with the United Nations, the African Union and a number
of European countries.
"Let us hope that this step does not reflect negatively on the
situation on the ground," Hosny said.
There has been no sign of reconciliation on the ground in
Somalia, where the Islamic courts seek to impose an Islamic state
and the internationally recognized government lacks the force to
assert its authority beyond Baidoa, the only town it controls.
The head of the Islamist team, Ibrahim Hussein Adow, praised the
postponement and denied his side was planning any attack.
"There was a gap between the parties and substantial issues, so
it was necessary to adjourn," he told reporters. "We are not
preparing nor planning for any confrontation. We want peace."
But whether the collapse of the talks will give the rival
groups' time to prepare for counter attacks in the Horn of African
nation remains to be seen.
Somalia has been in the grip of warlords and militias for years
and has not had a functioning national government since 1991.
(Xinhua News Agency November 3, 2006)
