Somalia signs peace pledge
2003-11-14 08:28
Tripoli - Somalia's Transitional National Government (TNG) President Abdulkassim Salat Hassan signed a reconciliation accord with several Somali opposition groups here on Thursday, the official Libyan Jana news agency reported.
The deal was signed in the presence of Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi, with the signatories promising to stick to the accord in a bid to install peace in the country.
The Jana report gave no details of the agreement.
Somalia has lacked an effective central government since the 1991 ouster of the dictator Mohammed Siad Barre.
US forces pulled out of the country in 1994 after an effort to deliver humanitarian aid turned into a failed campaign against leading warlord Mohammed Farah Aidid.
Peace talks, which led to the reported accord, have been held in Kenya with over 300 delegates involved.
Somali warlords, clan leaders, interim government officials and representatives from civil society have since October last year been attending the talks aimed at restoring the first semblance of a national administration since the collapse of Barre's regime in 1991.
- AFP