SOMALIA: GOVERNMENT SPLIT OVER TALKS WITH ISLAMISTS

Mogadishu, 16 Oct. (AKI) - Somalia's transitional government is deeply divided over whether to resume talks with the Union of Islamic Courts (UIC) which controls the capital and much of the country's south, according to a local newspaper. The speaker of Parliament Sherif Hassan, head of the government's delegation at the last round of talks with the UIC in Khartoum, Sudan, has resigned after clashing with Prime Minister Ali Gedi, the daily Karan reported. Sherif last week visited the Kenyan capital Nairobi where he reportedly met UIC representatives to pave the way for a fresh round of peace talks at the end of the month.
The negotiations were put on hold following last month's capture by UIC fighters of Kisimayo, a major city in southern Somalia.
Gedi has since accused Sherif of secretively resuming contacts with the UIC. Both the prime minister and President Abdullah Yusuf appear to favour defeating the UIC militarily possibly with the assistance of Ethiopian troops some of whom have already taken up positions in Baidoa the city where the transitional government is based. On Monday according to local reports pro-government fighters, believed to be backed by Ethiopian troops, took control of Dinsor, a village close to Baidoa which had fallen to the UIC some weeks ago.
(Ham/Aki)
Source: www.adnki.com