Peace agreement signed with radical Afar wing

The Djibouti government and the radical wing of the Front for the Restoration of Unity and Peace (FRUD) signed an agreement on Saturday, 12 May, which observers say aims to put an end to the uneasy aftermath of the Afar insurgency in northern and south-western Djibouti. The agreement was signed by Djibouti Interior Minister Abdallah Abdillahi Miguil and FRUD leader Ahmed Dini. Dini told journalists that the agreement centred on “decentralisation”, in which the government had promised to set up more representative local bodies. He said the government had also promised to introduce an “unrestricted multiparty system” by September. Local sources told IRIN that part of the deal involved the reconstruction and rehabilitation of areas and populations affected by the insurgency, which ran from 1991 to 1994. [See DJIBOUTI: Peace agreement addresses Afar discontent]