Peace talks mediator calls for sanctions against Somali warlord

NAIROBI : The chief mediator of the Somali peace talks in Kenya condemned the activities of a Somali warlord and appealed to the countries of the region to apply sanctions against him for refusing to rejoin the peace process.

"We call upon the whole region to apply smart sanctions against General Mohamed Siad Hersi 'Morgan', which would deny him entry into any Inter-Governmental Authority on Development (IGAD) countries," IGAD Facilitation Committee chairman Bethwell Kiplagat said in a statement.

Kiplagat said that repeated warnings and calls to Morgan by IGAD to rejoin the Somali National Reconciliation Conference, currently going on in the Kenyan capital, appear to have gone unheeded by the general.

"The Facilitation Committee, therefore, condemn in the strongest terms possible the absence and activities of Morgan and call upon the whole region to apply smart sanctions which would, inter-alia, deny him entry into any of the IGAD countries," Kiplagat added.

He cited IGAD, African Union and UN Security Council resolutions and declarations calling upon all Somalis to participate fully in the conference and work towards peace and security and to desist from any activities running counter to the interest of reconciliation, peace and stability in Somalia.

Morgan, a former strongman in southern Somalia's Juba Valley region, was deposed by the rival Juba Valley Alliance militia in 1999, but is currently believed to be organising a counter-attack to regain the region.

He is the only major warlord, who signed the Somali ceasefire accord in Kenya in 2002, to be absent from the final phase of the Somali peace talks in Nairobi. He quit the Nairobi conference four months ago.

Somalia has not had a recognized government, and has been ruled by clan warlords, since dictator Mohamed Siad Barre was toppled in 1991.

- AFP