MOGADISHU, Somalia Aug 15 (Garowe Online) - The Somali interim government's top leaders have traveled to Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, with emerging reports telling Garowe Online that the African Union plans to mediate among them.

On Friday, President Abdullahi Yusuf and Prime Minister Nur "Adde" Hassan Hussein flew from the capital Mogadishu, while parliament Speaker Sheikh Adan "Madobe" Mohamed flew from the airstrip in the southwestern town of Baidoa, where the country's parliament is based.

Inside sources said AU officials who secretly visited Mogadishu this week extended an invitation to the Somali leaders to visit AU headquarters in Addis Ababa.

But President Yusuf "refused" to travel to Addis Ababa yesterday, after he disagreed with discussion points during AU mediation efforts, the sources added.

The President has staunchly rejected Prime Minister Nur Adde's decision to fire Mogadishu Mayor Mohamed Dheere, calling it a "constitutional" dispute. [ Full story]

It is not clear where the AU efforts will lead, but Somalia's transitional government has been plagued by a series of disputes among top leaders since its inception in 2004.

Source: Garowe Online