Somalia
Somali PM accuses President Yusuf of opposing reconciliation
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Nov 20, 2008 - 9:50:00 AM

MOGADISHU, Somalia Nov 20 (Garowe Online) - Interim Somali Prime Minister Nur “Adde” Hassan Hussein returned to the capital Mogadishu on Thursday, where he told a press conference that President Abdullahi Yusuf is opposed to the ongoing reconciliation process.

“The peace process will continue in Djibouti and the government and opposition will discuss what has been implemented and what remains [to be implemented],” the Prime Minister said.

Somali PM Nur Adde

He criticized President Yusuf’s trip to Libya this week, saying that the President’s efforts to shift the peace talks venue from Djibouti to Libya is “unacceptable.”

“This is an effort to weaken the ongoing peace process,” Prime Minister Nur Adde told journalists at his Mogadishu office.

On piracy, the Prime Minister welcomed foreign warships deployed along Somalia’s long coastline in an anti-piracy campaign endorsed by the United Nations.

Prime Minister Nur Adde said that the government is “making progress” in an effort to appoint a regional government for Banadir, where Mogadishu is located.

He reiterated the Djibouti Agreement’s clause calling for the withdrawal of Ethiopian forces from Somalia, beginning on November 21 and lasting for a period of 120 days.

“Al Shabaab is showing off its military power, but the government has plans to prevent these instigators,” Prime Minister Nur Adde said, in some of the strongest words for the Islamist faction that controls a number of key regions in southern Somalia.

The political dispute between Somalia’s leaders has largely crippled an already weak government and divided the government’s foreign backers.

This week, Somali news agency Garowe Online reported that Ethiopian leaders have strong disagreements over the appropriate policy in Somalia. READ: Ethiopian leaders divided over Somalia policy

Source: Garowe Online