NAIROBI, Nov 26 (AFP) - Prominent Somali warlord Hussein Mohamed Aidid said Friday that he welcomed with reservations a Djibouti proposal to end the clan warfare that has raged in Somalia since 1991.
"We now very much welcome the new peace initiative," Aidid said in Nairobi, referring to proposals made by Djibouti President Ismail Omar Guelleh under the aegis of the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD), a regional body Guelleh chairs.
The proposals include the holding of "a true reconciliation conference" and the prosecution of Somali warlords for crimes against humanity.
Guelleh also suggested that regional organizations in which Somalia is a member - mainly the Organization of African Unity and the Arab League - should try to use "all means at their disposal," with the help of the United Nations, to redress the Somali situation.
The member states of IGAD, which plays a key mediating role in the Horn of Africa state, are Djibouti, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya, Sudan and Uganda.
Somalia is also a member in theory, but does not sit on the body because it has no central government.
Aidid said it was essential "to safeguard the exclusive right of the Somali people" to choose their political leaders and that foreign interference in this should be limited to facilitating reconciliation. Judicial decisions, such as the prosecution of warlords, should be left to a future Somali government, he said.
"My reservations, however, should not be seen as objections but rather constructively making sure that this initiative ... succeed," he said.
Many in Somalia, which has lacked a central government since dictator Mohamed Siad Barre was ousted in 1991, hold warlords such as Aidid responsible for denying them a political franchise.
Aidid also welcomed the international consensus of support for the IGAD plan.
"Our problem in Somalia has not only been the problem on this side, there have also been different interests among the foreign actors who have interfered in the internal affairs of Somalia," he said. "Now we want to open a new page and we welcome the new efforts," he added.
Aidid, 36, stressed he was a key player in Somalia's civil society, and said he enjoyed the support of "the youth wing, religious leaders, elders and women's groups in his faction."
Aidid also said the Somali National Alliance (SNA), founded by his late father, general Mohamed Farah Aidid, and allied factions would not condone military interference by IGAD countries.
"The most sophisticated armies in the world were unable to impose rules (through) military strength," he said in reference to the ridiculous intervention by the United States and the United Nations between 1992 and 1995.
Aidid recalled that he himself was among the Marines deployed by the United States, where he grew up.
