South African UN Ambassador Dumisani Kumalo, who leads the council peace mission with British UN Ambassador John Sawers, was quoted as saying "It is a start."

Sawers said "The fact that the parties are here. They are prepared to engage through the same mediator, I think this is a step forward to where we have been before."

"We came away feeling that we engaged openly and honesty with both sides and they are both aware of the encouragement they are having from us to make progress on this political track, as it is the only way to re-establish peace in their country," the British UN ambassador added.

Somalia has been the scene of almost uninterrupted civil conflict since the 1991 ouster of former president Mohamed Siad Barre. At least a dozen peace initiatives to end the bloodshed in the country have collapsed.

More than 6,000 people were killed last year and more than 1 million Somali displaced by fighting between Islamic insurgents and Ethiopia-backed government troops.

Fighting in the country has become almost daily. Islamic insurgents fired mortar shells at Mogadishu airport as the plane carrying Somali President Yusuf and his delegation was about to take off Sunday for Djibouti.

(Xinhua News Agency June 4, 2008)