Somali Gov't, Islamic Courts Sign Peace Deal

The peace accord crowned three days of talks brokered by the Arab League. (Reuters)

"I am delighted by the signing of this agreement that will pave the way for the pacification of Somalia," said Ibrahim Hassan Addow, the chief of the Islamic Courts delegation, reported Agence France-Presse (AFP).

"As the Islamic courts, we will implement this agreement that has been made here in Khartoum and we call upon the government to do the same," he said at a signing ceremony.

The deputy prime minister of Somalia's transitional government, Abdullahi Sheikh Ismail, signed on behalf of the largely powerless administration whose limited authority has been severely tested by the rise of the Islamic Courts.

"The Somali people are tired of war," he said. "They no longer want to see a continuation of factional fighting. The time to make peace has come and we will not hesitate to take all opportunities to ensure our country is peaceful."

The four-point agreement was hammered out after three days of Arab League-mediated talks.

The signing, at a Khartoum hotel, was witnessed by Sudanese Foreign Minister Lam Akol and Arab League representative Abdul Halima.

The two sides had met in Khartoum in June for their first direct talks and agreed to recognize each other and to observe a ceasefire.

The Islamic Courts rose to power by capturing Mogadishu and other key areas in June from US-backed warlords who had ruled the capital since the overthrow of president Mohamed Siad Barre in 1991.

Unified Army

"I am delighted by the signing of this agreement that will pave the way for the pacification of Somalia," said Addow. (Reuters)

The main point of the accord, the fourth, says the two sides have "agreed to the formation of a Somali national army and police force by integrating Islamic Courts militias, the transitional federal government and other local militia."

The accord also sets out three points to which the sides will adhere, including continued implementation of the June 22 accords, which they have each accused the other of violating.

Those charges have stemmed from the presence in Somalia of troops from neighboring Ethiopia in support of the government.

The accord says the two sides will "co-exist peacefully with neighboring countries and ask regional states to respect the territorial integrity of Somalia."

It also says they will not "support Somali warlords (or) fight among themselves or re-arm themselves," according to a Somali language copy.

The government and the Islamic Courts also agreed to begin talks on power-sharing on October 30, at the end of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, as an extension of the deal, intended to prevent the lawless nation from plunging further into chaos.

Officials from both sides told Reuters that they would form a joint committee with Arab League and Sudanese observers to monitor implementation of the new accord.

Peacekeepers

The agreement does not mention at all the government's repeated requests for African peacekeepers to shore up its limited authority.

In a position paper presented earlier Monday in Khartoum, and in talks with Kenyan officials in Nairobi, the Islamic Courts had renewed absolute rejection of any foreign forces on Somali soil.

"We discussed this issue, but we reached no agreement whatsoever," said Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmed, the head of the executive committee of the Supreme Islamic Council of Somalia (SICS).

"We warned them that any deployment against our wishes will spoil everything, including the small peace in the country," he told reporters after returning to Mogadishu from the Kenyan capital on the eve of the summit.

The deployment of foreign peacekeepers in Somalia is high on the agenda of a top-level IGAD summit in the Kenyan capital on Tuesday, September 5, Reuters said.

Most heads of state and government from the seven IGAD members -- Somalia, Sudan, Uganda, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya and Djibouti -- are expected to show up.

IGAD has been leading the peace process in Somalia and helped create the interim government in late 2004.