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Govt, Islamic courts agree to recognise each other

[Somalia] Shaykh Sharif Shaykh Ahmed, chairman of the Union of Islamic Courts. [Date picture taken: June 2006] Shabelle Radio
Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmed, chairman of the Union of Islamic Courts.
    NAIROBI

    Somalia's interim government and the Union of Islamic Courts (UIC), the group that controls Mogadishu, have agreed to mutually recognise each other and engage in further dialogue in a bid to bring stability to the war-torn country.

    Following talks in the Sudanese capital, Khartoum, on Thursday, both sides - under Arab League mediation - resolved to "acknowledge the reality on the ground," according to Shaykh Bashir Adow, a member of the UIC team. That means that the UIC now recognises the legality of the Transitional Federal Government (TFG), while the government acknowledges the UIC's existence.

    Both parties also agreed to end "all harmful propaganda" against each other, Adow said. They agreed to meet again in Khartoum on 15 July for a more substantive round of talks.

    The Islamic courts militia has seized control of much of southern Somalia, including the capital, since 4 June when they drove out a group of faction leaders who had controlled Mogadishu since 1991 when the administration of Muhammad Siyad Barre was toppled. The UIC has vowed to restore order in Somalia and has started creating Islamic courts in the areas it controls.

    The TFG, which is based in the provincial town of Baidoa, west of Mogadishu, had, in the lead up to the talks in Khartoum said it would not talk to the UIC, unless the Islamic leadership recognised it as the legally established government.

    United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan welcomed the agreement and urged both parties to continue dialogue to promote peace and national reconciliation in Somalia.

    SEE RELATED STORY:
    SOMALIA: Interview with Shaykh Sharif Shaykh Ahmed, Union of Islamic Courts (UIC) chairman

    This article was produced by IRIN News while it was part of the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. Please send queries on copyright or liability to the UN. For more information: https://shop.un.org/rights-permissions

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