Ethiopia, Somalia talk politics

2006-08-05 18:58

Baidoa - Two Ethiopian ministers held talks with Somalia's interim president and prime minister on Saturday, in a bid to solve a political row threatening the unity of the 18-month transitional government.

Ethiopian foreign affairs minister Seyum Mesfin and culture minister Mohamed Dirir held separate consultations with prime minister Ali Mohamed Gedi and President Abdullahi Yusuf Ahmed, who have disagreed on whether to hold talks with the powerful Islamic courts in Somalia.

"The two ministers are here to try and stabilise the situation and reconcile the president and the prime minister," said government spokesperson Abdirahman Mohamed Dinari.

Yusuf and parliament speaker, Sharif Hassan Sheikh Aden, have shown interest in negotiating with the Supreme Islamic Council of Somalia (SICS), but Gedi has been hesitant.

Officials said the fall out occurred when Yusuf and Aden insisted on sending delegates to the Arab League-mediated talks with the courts in Sudan, despite Gedi's call for a postponement of the second round talks.

At least 38 ministers have quit the 102-member cabinet in the past week, protesting against Gedi's policies, notably the deployment of Ethiopian troops to protect his government and his reluctance to engage in peace talks with the courts.

Gedi replaced seven ministers in efforts to reconstruct his government on Friday.

The transitional government is based in the provincial town of Baidoa, about 250km northwest of the capital Mogadishu.

The Islamic courts control Mogadishu and much of the country. They have refused to hold peace talks with the government until Ethiopian troops are withdrawn.

The transitional government was appointed in Kenya in 2004, after more than two years of peace talks.

- AFP