Peace deal in Kismayo

A peace deal has been signed between two rival clans in the port city of Kismayo, 500 km south of Mogadishu, a local source told IRIN on Tuesday. The talks which led to the agreement between the Marehan clan and Muhammad Zubayr of the main Ogaden clan, were organized by the Juba Valley Alliance (JVA), which controls Kismayo and its environs. The talks brought together some 300 delegates from both sides and had been in progress for the last 10 days, local businessman Abdi Hashi Dore said. The Muhammad Zubayr clan had supported the Somali Reconciliation and Restoration Council (SRRC), while the Marehan supports the Transitional National Government (TNG). The SRRC is a grouping of southern factions opposed to the TNG. Under the agreement, the two sides will join forces in support of the TNG, said Dore. "They also agreed to restore looted property and to resume commercial activity", which had come to a standstill since movement between Kismayo and the Muhammad Zubayr areas was curtailed by the fighting for Kismayo in late July and early August, he said. Kismayo, the third-largest town in Somalia, was captured from the JVA, by SRRC militia led by General Muhammad Sa'id Hirsi Morgan on 6 August, but was recaptured by the Alliance on 7 August. Kismayo has been described as one of the most unstable places in Somalia; it changed hands many times during the civil war, Somali political sources pointed out. The two sides also agreed to join forces to fight "anyone or any group posing a threat to peace and stability in the area", and to resolve any disputes between them on the basis of Islamic law, he said. The agreement calls for all those who fled their homes to be allowed to return, Dore added.