Somali faction leaders meet in Addis Ababa

Some 10 Somali faction leaders, all considered opponents of Hussein Aideed, left Somalia over the weekend to attend a "peace conference" in Addis Ababa at the invitation of Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi. Warlord Musa Sudi Yalahow, Colonel Abdullahi Yusuf Ahmed, the leader of the autonomous 'Puntland' region in the northeast of Somalia and eight other factional representatives were due to meet in the Ethiopian capital on Monday to discuss peace prospects, according to media reports in Somalia. A coalition of many of the same faction leaders last week deplored Eritrea's alleged arming of Somali militias and called on the international community to tighten the arms embargo on the country. A spokesman at the Ethiopian embassy in Nairobi said the meeting was no surprise since "Ethiopia has been trying to facilitate a peaceful resolution to the Somali conflict" - both for its own security considerations and in order to develop regional cooperation and integration.