Final Phase of Peace Talks Expected to Be Launched

The final phase of the Somali peace process is expected to be launched during a meeting of foreign ministers from member countries of the regional Inter-Governmental Authority on Development (IGAD) and leaders of various Somali groups in the Kenyan capital, Nairobi, on Thursday, a source in IGAD said.

Most of the Somali leaders were expected to attend the meeting. "Everything is on course. Most of them have indicated they will be there for the meetings with ministers and other partners," the source said on Wednesday. "We anticipate the launch of the final phase to go ahead."

The ministers called the meeting in an effort to expedite the talks. Having met in Nairobi on 6 and 7 May, the ministers said in a joint communiqué that the Somali peace process "should come to a successful conclusion latest by the end of July". They "solemnly declared their total and unreserved commitment to unite in resolving the Somali problem once and for all", and "appealed to all the absent leaders to return to the conference" before 20 May, the communiqué added.

The Somali talks, which have lasted over a year, have been in the doldrums ever since 29 January. On that date, Somali leaders signed what was then described as "a landmark breakthrough" agreement on contentious issues that had earlier plagued the talks.

A number of the same leaders later expressed reservations about the agreement, and called for the postponement of the third phase of the talks until "contentious issues" had been resolved. Others called for the next phase of talks to be convened in Somalia.

Meanwhile, a ceasefire brokered by clan elders was announced Sunday in the northern districts of the capital, Mogadishu, according to local sources. The ceasefire was reportedly arranged by a mediation committee led by traditional leaders and other prominent clan elders.

At least 60 people have died since intra-clan fighting in Mogadishu erupted a week ago. Hundreds were wounded and thousands displaced, local sources told IRIN.

The fighting erupted on 16 May after a disagreement between two militias of the same clan who are loyal to two business people. It involved forces guarding a hotel in the northern district of Behani, and those loyal to a local businessman from the Warsangeli subclan, which reportedly attacked the hotel, the property of a businesswoman from the Wabudan subclan.

A local journalist, however, told IRIN on Tuesday that the two sides had not withdrawn to their original positions, and "are still directly facing each other". The ceasefire, he added, was holding "because both sides are tired and have run out of ammunition".

According to the journalist, shops and other businesses in some districts in the north of the city which had been closed since the fighting started remained closed. Thousands of families displaced by the fighting had not yet returned to their homes "for fear on renewed conflict", he added.

In a related development, an international NGO, SOS-Kinderdorf International, has temporarily closed its emergency clinic in Mogadishu after failing to resolve demands for compensation from relatives of a former patient.

The NGO said in a statement on Wednesday that the hospital, the only one in the Somali capital which provides free medical treatment, closed on 15 May due to fears for the safety of its medical staff and concerns for the continued viability of its medical programme arising from a standoff with the relatives.

"In previous cases, when our facilities or staff have been under threat, the local community has always been involved in finding a solution," Willy Huber, the regional director of SOS Children's Villages in East Africa, was quoted as saying in the statement. "I am confident that the situation will soon be resolved and that the hospital will reopen."


Posted on Wednesday 19th May at 11:34:09