Somali Gov't Signs Deal With Opposition Figures
By VOA News
19 August 2008
Somalia's interim government has signed a peace deal with some opposition figures in Djibouti, although fighting continues in the Somali capital, Mogadishu.
The government and the moderate faction of the Alliance for the Re-Liberation of Somalia signed the agreement late Monday. In the accord, the sides affirm a commitment to halt fighting and to refrain from making inflammatory statements.
It also calls for deployment of United Nations peacekeepers in Somalia to replace Ethiopian troops who support the government.
The opposition alliance split into two factions when the deal was tentatively reached in June. Hard-liners based in Eritrea rejected the accord and vowed to continue fighting the government.
Witnesses in Mogadishu say at least two people were killed Tuesday when Ethiopian troops fired mortar shells at Mogadishu's main market following an attack by Islamist insurgents.
Thousands of Somalis have died in more than 18 months of fighting between the insurgents and the Ethiopian-backed government. The Ethiopians invaded Somalia in late 2006 to help the government oust an Islamist movement from power in southern and central areas of the country.
The Islamists have the backing of the Eritrean-based opposition group.
Somalia has endured years of violence and chaos since the fall of the last stable central government in 1991.
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