No Peace Talks until Ethiopian Troops are Out

Somali Islamic militants issued an official statement on Tuesday, announcing that they would not take part in any peace negotiations in Sudan, until the Ethiopian government decides to withdraw its troops out of Somalia, Reuters informs.

"As long as Ethiopia is in our country, talks with the government cannot go ahead. If the government cares about the Somalis, it should remove our enemy from the country", the leader of the militia, Shiekh Hassan Dahir Aweys told reporters in capital Mogadishu.

On the other hand, the Somali provisional government, currently stationed in Baidoa, after being driven out of Mogadishu by the now powerful militia, had agreed earlier to take part in peace talks mediated by Sudan, thus responding to a United Nations peace initiative in order to prevent war from breaking out in the Horn of Africa region.

Following a meeting with a UN special envoy in Baidoa, Abdirizak Adam, the chief of staff of Somali interim president Abdullahi Yusuf, confirmed the fact that the Somali government side would attend peace negotiations: "We will go to Khartoum without any preconditions".

Previous attempts to bring the two sides to the round table bogged down on July 22nd, when representatives of the Somali militia stated they would pull out of negotiations because the Somali government has called Ethiopian troops into the country in order to defend themselves. On the other hand, the Addis Ababa administration continues to support Somali president Yusuf and labels the militia as a group of terrorists.

On Monday, Somali governmental officials asked the Ethiopian troops to withdraw from Somalia, this being the first official recognition on their part regarding the troops' presence on Somali soil.