PM: Somali gov't committed to Djibouti peace deal

MOGADISHU, June 22 (Xinhua) -- Somali Prime Minister Nur Hassan Hussein reiterated on Sunday that his government would implement the peace pact signed with the opposition early this month in Djibouti.

Speaking at a news conference at his office in the Somali capital of Mogadishu, the prime minister told reporters that the Somali transitional government is committed to making peace with the opposition, saying the agreement reached in Djibouti was the first step towards stability in the country.

"The agreement between us and the opposition is a historic one and the Somali government would implement it," Hussein said.

The Somali prime minister expressed regret about the ongoing near daily violence in Somalia, saying the violence is affecting the civilians. He said Ethiopian troops would withdraw within the agreed timeframe of 120 days from the signing of the Djibouti agreement on June 9 if security in the country improves and "conducive environment is created".

"The Ethiopian troops would withdraw if the country is stable enough and we would not even wait for a full deployment of UN forces," Hussein said.

The Somali transitional government and the a faction of the opposition coalition the Alliance for the Reliberation of Somalia (ARS) signed the peace deal early this month but another faction of ARS and the hard-line group Al-Shabaab boycotted the talks in Djibouti and rejected the agreement.

Under the agreement, Ethiopian troops would withdraw in 120 days after the deployment of "a sufficient number of UN force".

A roadside bomb killed four Somali government soldiers and wounded four civilians in Mogadishu hours before the Somali prime minister's press conference.

Meanwhile, reports from the central Somali town of Beledweyn said unknown gunmen shot dead Mohamed Hassan Kullane, a regional head of a local NGO, as he was standing in front of his home.

Kullane was the third well-known figure killed in Beledweyn, the capital of Hiran Province, in the past 24 hours.