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| Africa Horn |
| Mortar explodes as Somalia peace talks adjourn |
| 2007-07-16 |
| A long-awaited Somali peace conference was adjourned on Sunday just hours after it opened, after some delegates failed to arrive and a mortar shell exploded near the venue in Mogadishu. President Abdullahi Yusuf Ahmed was addressing the much-delayed meeting at the time of the explosion, which occurred about 500 metres away, but refused to cut off his speech. “We cannot be terrified even if anti-peace elements throw an atomic bomb. I want to assure you that the time of uncertainty and the use of force to pursue power is over,” said the former warlord. Shortly afterwards, conference chief organiser Ali Mahdi Mohamed adjourned the talks to await the arrival of more delegates. “The conference is adjourned till Thursday when we expect all delegates will have arrived. Some did not arrive for logistical reasons,” he said. Officials said around 800 of the 1,325 invited delegates had registered at the conference venue in a police warehouse in northern Mogadishu on Sunday, where appeals for peace resounded. “I urge you to rise above your respective clan and sub-clan (politics) in order to bring normality to our country,” said Mohamed, another former warlord. “This is a historic opportunity for you to have dialogue and reconciliation in Somalia. Most of the previous conferences were unsuccessful because they were held abroad. “Nobody will achieve political ambitions through the barrel of the gun. I have been fighting for over 38 years and what I brought to my country is war and destruction.” |
| Posted by:Fred |