By Sahal Abdulle
Mogadishu, Oct. 5 (Reuters) - A group of Somali lawmakers met powerful Islamists in their Mogadishu stronghold after leaving the temporary capital because of growing security fears since last month's assassination attempt on the president.
The Islamists' most influential leader, Sheikh Hassan Dahir Aweys, welcomed the presence of 36 legislators in Mogadishu - of whom 26 met Islamists late on Wednesday - saying the movement was ready to work with them.
The comments are likely to irk the interim government struggling to assert its authority over the divided Horn of Africa country.
A September 18 car bomb attack targeting President Abdullahi Yusuf in Baidoa further exposed the vulnerability of the administration, which was too divided to prevent the Islamists from seizing Mogadishu in June and other parts of Somalia.
"The lack of security is what brought us to Mogadishu. Where the president's life is in danger, no one else is safe," said Abdalla Haji Ali, head of parliament's finance committee.
"The Islamists are open to everything including power-sharing and bringing law and order through negotiations without any foreign intervention," the lawmaker added.
Senior Islamist Ibrahim Hassan Adou described the meeting - in which the two sides ended a day of religious fasting by dining together - as a "confidence building" measure.
Another top Islamist, Sheikh Sharif Ahmed, told Reuters the two sides discussed security. "We discussed the threat our country is facing and how we can cooperate on the defence of the country and prevent foreign forces from coming to Somalia."
Source: Reuters, Oct. 5, 2006