Monday, December 18, 2006
Two days after the Islamists appeared to open the door for talks with Ethiopia to stave off clashes, Information Minister Ali Jama said the government was prepared to respond to any attack but still
believed fighting could be avoided through negotiation.
"The government has not ruled out talks, we are a government of reconciliation, but how can we negotiate with somebody who is threatening to attack us?" he has said.
Islamist leaders have said they would launch a military operation against Ethiopian troops in Somalia if they did not withdraw by Tuesday.
"It is up to the international community to ensure that the climate for peace talks is conducive," he added.
Last week, Somali President Abdullahi Yusuf Ahmed said "the door for peace talks has been closed," and accused the Islamists of destroying any chance for peace by threatening the government.
And on Saturday, a top Islamist official, Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmed, said the movement was prepared for "dialogue" with Ethiopia, which has troops in Somalia protecting the government.
At the same time, Ahmed and the speaker of the Somali parliament Sharif Hassan Sheikh Aden announced a deal, reached in Yemen, to bring the Islamists and the government back to the negotiating table after peace talks collapsed last month.
A day before the deadline for Ethiopian troops to leave Somalia was to expire, the government had put its forces on the alert to respond if the Islamists make good their threat.
"We have been counting the days and are waiting for the deadline. We will not be the first one to attack, but will not stand by and watch if we are attacked," Jama added.
The Islamists have already declared holy war on the Ethiopian troops in Somalia and claim to have launched several minor attacks, but stepped up the ante last week with the ultimatum.
There was no immediate reaction to Saturday's developments from mainly Christian Ethiopia which, along with the United States, accuses the Islamists of having links with al-Qaeda and trying to foment unrest among its sizable Muslim minority.
Ethiopia has sent several hundred military trainers and advisers to help the Somali government, but denies widespread reports it has
deployed thousands of combat troops to Somalia.
Analysts have warned that an all-out war in Somalia would engulf the whole region, drawing in Addis Ababa arch-foe Eritrea, both of whom are accused of fighting a proxy war in the lawless African nation.
Source: AFP, Dec 18, 2006