Political leaders meet in Libya

Three of Somalia’s main political leaders were in Libya for talks, ahead of a UN-backed conference on Somali reunification next month, the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) reported on Thursday. The three - Mogadishu faction leader Hussein Aideed, the self-declared Somaliland leader Mohamed Egal, and Puntland’s leader Abdullahi Yusuf - are opposed to the peace plan on which the conference is based, which stresses Somalia’s territorial integrity. The BBC said the gathering in Tripoli came a day after Egal had reportedly refused to meet the UN representative to Somalia, David Stephen, who had travelled to Hargeisa for the appointment. Thousands of people in Hargeisa demonstrated against the plan last month after the local parliament declared that anyone who attended the conference would be considered a traitor.