By Aweys Yusuf and Abdi Sheikh
Tuesday, October 09, 2007
MOGADISHU (Reuters) - Somalia's prime minister has reached a truce with Mogadishu's dominant clan, whose fighters had supported Islamist-led insurgents in battles with government troops and Ethiopian forces earlier this year.
Hawiye clan elders met Prime Minister Ali Mohamed Gedi amid tight security on Monday in the capital, which has been rocked by insecurity since January when his soldiers and their Ethiopian allies routed a hardline Sharia courts group.
Some Hawiye militia have joined remnants of that movement to wage a rebellion since then. But speaking after the talks, Gedi said the clan leaders would now work with his administration to take on the insurgents.
"We agreed a truce and we agreed that we do something about their complaints ... We agreed we work together against anyone carrying out violence," Gedi told reporters late on Monday.
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| PM Ali M. Geedi |
Responding to accusations that government troops have been heavy-handed in their hunt for rebels, Gedi called on his army officers to control their men, who he said should perform their duties with respect and discipline.
Gedi's government -- the 14th attempt to forge central rule in Somalia -- has struggled to impose its authority in the face of roadside bombings, grenade attacks and assassinations.
But rubble-strewn Mogadishu has been relatively calm in recent days, and the outcome of Gedi's meeting with the clan leaders was eagerly anticipated by many war-weary residents.
Hawiye spokesman Ahmed Diriye told Reuters the government and insurgents both had a responsibility to end the violence.
"If the truce gets enforced, I do hope that all people who have political agendas on their mind, opposing the government, will compromise with it," he said.
Source: Reuters, Oct 09, 2007