Somali Government And Opposition Sign Peace Agreement

The Somali transitional government and major opposition group Alliance for Re-liberation of Somali on Monday signed the United Nations brokered peace deal they agreed on in Djibouti in June, UN representative for Somalia Ahmedou Ould–Abdallah said.

“The final signing of the deal was due to happen in Saudi Arabi but Somalis decided to finalize it here and they will go to Saudi Arabia for a bigger ceremony and to say prayers for Somalia,” Ould–Abdallah told journalists at the end of three-day peace talks in Djibouti.

The agreement will get into affect starting from the time it was signed by both sides, according to the text of the agreement.

Among the issues the peace deal underlines is the implementation of a ceasefire and withdrawal of Ethiopian troops that are backing the transitional government within 120 days.

The latest agreement also provides that the Ethiopian troops will pull out from the bases they have occupied in the residential areas of the capital Mogadishu as well as other towns with in 15 days.

This provision is particularly important to thousands of displaced residents who have been forced out of their homes for nearly two years, following deadly violence and almost daily clashes between the government and its allied Ethiopian forces and the insurgents on the other hand.

This latest deal comes as the top leaders of the transitional government, the president and prime minister, are in Addis-Ababa where efforts by Ethiopian government are under way to solve their political differences that have threatened the smooth running of the Somali peace process.

Source African Press Agency

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