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Somalia’s parties could resume talks, says UN envoy

Somalia’s parties could resume talks, says UN envoy

François Lonsény Fall
Somalia’s Transitional Federal Government and its Supreme Council of Islamic courts have agreed to reconsider resuming the dialogue they started last month, the senior United Nations envoy to the troubled country has announced after wrapping up a tour there.

The Secretary-General’s Special Representative François Lonsény Fall returned to Nairobi yesterday after meeting with leaders of both sides in the troubled African country.

Mr. Fall met the Somali President and other officials in Baidoa, where he urged them to maintain unity among the Transitional Federal Institutions, a UN spokesman said. In Mogadishu, which he drove through to assess the state of the Somali capital, Mr. Fall met members of the Executive Council of the Islamic Courts.

The spokesman added that Mr. Fall also announced that a UN team will visit Mogadishu soon to begin humanitarian assistance there for those in need.

Early last month, militias associated with the Supreme Council of Islamic Courts drove warlords out of Mogadishu and took control of parts of Somalia, which has not had a functioning government since the fall of President Muhammad Siad Barre’s regime in 1991.

On 22 June, the Transitional Government and the Supreme Council reached an accord that included a commitment to refrain from any provocations that could lead to an escalation of the situation.