Puntland opponents sign peace deal

The administration in the self-declared autonomous region of Puntland and opposition forces signed a peace deal on Saturday aimed at ending conflict in the region, a local journalist told IRIN on Monday. The talks which have been under way in Bosaso, the commercial capital, since 10 May, between the Puntland administration of Col Abdullahi Yusuf and the opposition led by Gen Ade Muse Hirsi, "ended with the signing of a power-sharing agreement between the two sides", said Muhammad Sa'id Kashawiito, of the Bosaso-based Midnimo radio. Under deal the opposition will have three ministers, two vice-ministers, two governors, two mayors and the commander of either the police force or the army, Kashawiito said. Furthermore, the opposition militia will be integrated into the Puntland security forces. "As of Saturday the opposition ceased to exist," Puntland's acting information minister Abdishakuur Mire Aden told IRIN. "The agreement brings to a close a dark chapter in Puntland's history." According to Kashawiito, the people of Puntland welcomed the peace agreement which ends two years of conflict and power struggle in the region. "On Saturday night, people were celebrating to welcome the agreement. Everybody hopes this is a new beginning for Puntland and an end to factional fighting," he said. The deal between Ade Muse, an ally of the rival claimant to the Puntland presidency, Jama Ali Jama, and Col. Abdullahi Yusuf, was brokered by Boqor Usman Aw Mahmud and Sultan Sa'id Sultan Abdisalam, both elders from the disputed region of Sanaag, said Abdishakur. Meanwhile, Jama Ali Jama, who was not involved in the peace talks told IRIN that "in principle I welcome any peace initiative". "However, I hope the process will be all inclusive involving all those that can contribute to peace in Puntland," he added. Jama warned that the agreement should not "violate" the Puntalnd charter. "If the charter is not respected the peace deal will not work," he said. Controversy over Puntland's leadership has been increasingly vocal since June 2001, when Abdullahi Yusuf, whose presidential term ended then, claimed that the region's parliament had extended his mandate. In November 2001, a number of Puntland traditional elders elected Jama Ali Jama as president for a three-year term in the hope that this would end the leadership wrangle. Abdullahi Yusuf recaptured Bosaso from Jama Ali Jama in May 2002.