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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Saturday, October 12, 2002

Somali Peace Talks Set to Kick off in Kenya

A new round of Somali peace talks will open in Kenya's northwestern city of Eldoret Tuesday, with six heads of state and governments and some 300 delegates expectedto attend.


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A new round of Somali peace talks will open in Kenya's northwestern city of Eldoret Tuesday, with six heads of state and governments and some 300 delegates expectedto attend.

"The participation is expected to bring about 300 notable Somali political, military, traditional and civil society leaders," said Kenyan Foreign Minister Marsden Madoka at a press conference here Friday.

He said that the delegates will arrive in Eldoret from Saturday, and that six heads of state and government from member states of the Inter-Governmental Authority on Development (IGAD) had indicated that they would attend the opening ceremony.

The participating groups include the Somali Transitional National government (TNG), members of the Somali Reconciliation and Restoration Council (SRRC) and Puntland, said the minister, adding that Somaliland was also invited.

The peace talks will be divided into three phases, with the first one focusing the rules and procedures of the talks during which the Somalis themselves will determine on the final objectives of the talks, he said.

During the first phase, five committees will also be formed which will deal with issues ranging from constitution drafting, land and the return of property, economic reconstruction, demobilization and future military structures as well as political power sharing and the establishment of an inclusive and broad-based government, he said.

Somalia has been in the grip of rival warlords since it descended into chaos after the ousting of former dictator Mohammed Siad Barre in 1991.

The TNG was set up after a conference of clan elders in 2000, but has so far failed to convince many of the country's warlords to accept its rule.

It controls only part of the capital Mogadishu and other pockets of territory around the country.

Last December, the TNG and some opposition faction leaders held peace talks in Kenya which ended with an agreement to set up a broad-based national government in three months, but the agreement has never been honored due to the rejection by some powerful warlords who had boycotted the talks.

"The last peace process has not succeeded because there were not complete participation by everybody. This time, we try everything make sure everybody is on board," the minister said.

IGAD comprises Djibouti, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya, Somalia, the Sudan and Uganda.


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