Regional ministers prepare peace talks

Regional ministers began talks in the Kenyan capital Nairobi on Thursday aimed preparing the ground for another round of Somali reconciliation talks next month. The ministers, from the regional grouping Inter-Governmental Authority on Development (IGAD), appealed to the warring factions in Somalia to stop military action and give peace a chance, Kenyan radio reported. Opening the meeting, Sudanese Foreign Minister Dr Mustafa Uthman Isma'il, who is the current IGAD chairman, said peace and stability in Somalia would reflect positively on security in the region. IGAD's executive secretary, Dr Taha Ahmad Bashir, added that Somalis themselves must be included in the process. Kenyan Foreign Minister Marsden Madoka said the meeting was aimed at facilitating an "all-inclusive reconciliation process" for Somalia. But, he stressed, Somalis themselves must find the political will to reconcile and promote peace before any other initiative by neighbouring countries could succeed. Sources at the meeting told IRIN that the talks would last all day and participants were expected to issue a statement on Friday. The meeting is attended by Ethiopian Foreign Minister Seyoum Mesfin, Djibouti's Foreign Minister Ali Abdi Farah, Sudanese Foreign Minister Dr Mustafa Uthman Isma'il, Kenyan Foreign Minister Marsden Madoka, Ugandan Foreign Minister James Wapakhabulo, Somalia's interim government transport minister Abdi Muhammad, and Eritrea's deputy head for the Africa, Asia and Pacific region at the foreign ministry, Tewelde Weldemichael. Eritrean diplomatic sources told IRIN that Foreign Minister Ali Sayyid Abdallah could not attend "due to unforeseen tasks". Previous reconciliation talks in Kenya last December resulted in an agreement between Somalia's Transitional National Government (TNG) and some factions opposed to it.