U.S. urges ceasefire, unity talks among Somalis

[Gabbal]

U.S. urges ceasefire, unity talks among Somalis

 

WASHINGTON, Dec 29 (Reuters) - The United States urged Somalia's interim government on Friday to work toward a ceasefire with ousted Islamists and to include all Somalis in political dialogue to put the shattered country back together.

 

"What we'd like to see happen as soon as possible is arrangements take place between the Islamic Courts Union and Transitional Federal Government for a ceasefire," State Department deputy spokesman Tom Casey said.

 

Somali Prime Minister Ali Mohamed Gedi swept into Mogadishu in an armored convoy on Friday a day after his Ethiopian-backed forces drove Islamic Courts Union rivals from the city they had ruled by sharia law since June.

 

Washington had accused the Islamic movement of harboring al Qaeda operatives and defended the role of Ethiopia in helping Somalian interim government forces, saying Addis Ababa had reasons for concern about the country's internal warfare.

 

Washington was also willing to help efforts to launch an African peacekeeping force to monitor the ceasefire and support the government, Casey said.

 

So far only Uganda had offered troops to a force that has been backed by a U.N. Security Council resolution.

 

Casey told reporters the United States was talking with the interim government in Somalia as well as with neighboring Ethiopia, Kenya and Uganda to urge all sides to "make sure that we have an open and inclusive political process."

 

"We want to see the transitional federal authorities engage with all the various political actors in the country," he said, adding that that included members of the deposed Islamist movement who wanted to cooperate.

 

"Certainly individuals and groups that supported the Council of Islamic Courts, or elements thereof, that want to be part of and want to help develop Somali society and a lasting, durable government are people who need to be included in this process," Casey said.

 

Consultations the Transitional Federal Government held with clan elders of Mogadishu were an "important step" that showed acceptance by traditional leaders in the Horn of Africa country, he said.