MOGADISHU, Somalia July 9 (Garowe Online) - The chairman of Somali Islamist rebel faction Hizbul Islam has accepted peace talks with the country's U.N.-backed interim government, Radio Garowe reports Thursday.

Hizbul Islam chief Sheikh Hassan Dahir Aweys has reportedly accepted peace talks after discussions with Egyptian government officials, who have been leading efforts to mediate between Sheikh Aweys and President Sheikh Sharif Ahmed.

Egyptian officials have urged the Somali politicians to begin secretive talks in order to stop the bloodshed in the capital Mogadishu and other parts of south-central Somalia.

A member of Hizbul Islam, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, told Radio Garowe that Sheikh Aweys "has accepted any agreement to end the war in Mogadishu." But the source did not elaborate whether or not Sheikh Aweys' hardliner position against the presence of African Union peacekeepers has changed.

An Egyptian government official was quoted as saying that Sheikh Aweys has agreed to make peace with "his former friend," President Sheikh Sharif.

Arab League official Samir Husni told reporters in Cairo that Arab states would fund peace talks among Somali Islamist leaders to end the years-long bloody insurgency in south-central Somalia, especially in Mogadishu.

Sheikh Aweys, who is on the U.S. terror list, has not spoken publicly about this new development.

Source: Garowe Online