Diplomats Say Somali Peace Talks Near Collapse
01 November 2006
Diplomats say talks to avert war between Somalia's government and the country's powerful Islamist movement appear on the verge of collapse.
Mediators are still trying to get the sides to sit down face-to-face in Sudan's capital, Khartoum.
But talks that were scheduled to begin Monday remain stalled. The Islamists say they will not negotiate until Ethiopian troops backing the weak interim government leave Somali soil.
The sides also disagree on who will lead the talks. On Tuesday, the government rejected a proposal to have Sudan take the lead role from the Arab League and Kenya.
Diplomats fear the talks' collapse could lead to full-scale war in Somalia and across the Horn of Africa.
Meanwhile, witnesses say Islamist forces have taken control of another key port town. Residents of Hobyo on the central Somali coast say the Islamists entered with no resistance on Tuesday.
Islamist forces remain positioned near the interim government's base of Baidoa, prompting officials to ready for a possible attack.
Somalia's interim government has international support but virtually no power outside Baidoa. Islamist forces have seized control over much of the country's south since winning a battle for the capital, Mogadishu, in June.
The Islamists recently declared a holy war on Ethiopia for its backing of the government. Witnesses say Ethiopia has several thousand troops in Somalia. Ethiopia denies this but acknowledges sending several hundred military instructors to train government troops.
Diplomats fear war in Somalia could also draw in Ethiopia's rival Eritrea. The United States recently accused Eritrea of arming the Islamists. Eritrea called that charge a "pure fabrication."
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