The Somali government's chief negotiator said on Thursday that
the Somali peace talks in Khartoum failed due to unacceptable
conditions put forward by the Islamic Courts.
"The third round of peace negotiations failed because of
preconditions of the Islamic Courts which we refused," Abdullah
Sheikh Ismail, head of the Somali interim government delegation,
told a press conference.
He reiterated the government's keenness to continue its
responsibilities despite repeated attacks by the militia of the
Islamic Courts on its positions, especially Baidoa, the only major
city controlled by the government.
"We are besieged, but this terror can not prevent us from
defending the constitutional acquirements of the people," he said,
adding that government troops would safeguard Baidoa with all
means.
Sudan and the Arab League as well as other parties mediating the
Somali peace talks announced in a joint statement earlier in the
day that the peace talks were postponed indefinitely.
The Somali peace talks had been originally scheduled to resume
on Monday. But the delegates refused to sit together after arriving
in Khartoum despite mediating efforts by Sudan and the Arab League
as well as other parties concerned.
The delegation of the Islamic Courts, which controls the Somali
capital of Mogadishu and most of the south of the country, insisted
on its demand of withdrawal of Ethiopian troops from Somalia as a
precondition for starting the new round of peace talks.
The Somali peace talks began in Khartoum in June when the two
sides agreed on a formula for mutual recognition. The second
session was held in the city on Sept. 2-3 when the two sides signed
an agreement to form a unified national army.
(Xinhua News Agency November 3, 2006)
