Wednesday, November 01, 2006
As diplomatic efforts floundered to bring the Islamist movement and Somalia's weak government together for peace talks here, the Islamists sought independent verification of claims foreign troops are on Somali soil, an official said.
"We have asked the mediators and international observers to send a fact-finding mission to Somalia to clarify if there are Ethiopian troops or Eritrean troops," said the official, a senior Islamist delegate.
"We are ready to allow members of the international community to go and assess the presence of any foreign troops in the different areas of responsibility," the official said on condition of anonymity.
Ethiopia and Eritrea are suspected by many to be using Somalia as a proxy battlefield for their unresolved 1998-2000 border war and there are fears that conflict between the Islamists and Somali government could draw them in.
The Islamists accuse Ethiopia of deploying thousands of troops to support the government, charges denied by both the administration and Addis Ababa, which has, however, acknowledged sending military advisers.
The Islamists are demanding the withdrawal of all Ethiopian soldiers - said to number up to 8 000 by some accounts - before they sit down with the government at the peace talks in Khartoum.
Meanwhile, the government maintains the Islamists are receiving support from Eritrea, which has denied taking sides in Somalia and angrily rejected allegations it has some 2 000 troops in the country.
The effect of the Islamist proposal on efforts to salvage the peace talks was not clear, as there was no immediate reaction from the government.
But one Arab League mediator said the idea was a good one that should be considered when the two sides sit down together.
"It will bring trust between them and the international community but they need to agree on the framework for that mission themselves," he told AFP on condition of anonymity.
Source: AFP, Nov,. 1, 2006