'War more likely in Somalia'
2006-11-01 20:34
London - Somalia no longer considers Islamists who control large parts of the country partners in peace and war is "more likely than not", said the country's foreign minister on Wednesday.
Ismail Hurre Buba said he did not consider the peace process dead but added, "What I am saying (is) the ICU (Islamic Courts Union) is not a partner in peace, it's not a partner in bringing it about."
He said he believed the Islamists were using peace talks in Khartoum as a "ploy to buy time".
"These are people who want the area to explode. I'm sure that the Somali people will join together to end this kind of madness," he said in an interview in London.
Islamists want talks delayed
Asked if war was likely he said: "I think it's more likely than not... that is a miscalculation that maybe the Islamic courts are making."
A third round of Arab League-sponsored discussions aimed at averting war in Somalia were to begin in Sudan on Monday, but after two days the Islamist and government negotiators still had not come together for face to face talks.
Earlier on Wednesday, the Islamists said they wanted the talks postponed until "fundamental issues", especially the presence of Ethiopian troops in Somalia, could be resolved.
The Islamists, born out of a strict sharia courts movement, took over Mogadishu in June from US-backed warlords and have captured large parts of southern Somalia.
Islamist fighters are poised 10km from joint Ethiopian-Somali government forces protecting the shaky administration's base in Baidoa.