Saturday, July 19, 2008
Suleiman Olad Roble, spokesman for the Eritrea-based Alliance for the Re-liberation of Somalia (ARS), told AFP that a 106-strong majority of the 191 ARS central committee members "fully endorse the agreement."
"It is a great victory for the leadership of the alliance and for those who signed the agreement," he added.
"The alliance is ready to fully implement its part of the deal and call on the other parties to do so."
The chief of the ARS, Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmed and Somali Prime Minister Nur Hassan Hussein signed agreements at United Nations-sponsored talks in Djibouti on June 9 that included a three-month truce.
Ahmed told AFP earlier on Saturday that the alliance wanted the withdrawal of Ethiopian forces in the country and a deployment of UN forces.
Ethiopian forces came to the rescue of an embattled Somali government in late 2006 to oust an Islamist movement that controlled much of southern and central Somalia.
Hardline Islamists who had rejected the peace deal -- led by Sheikh Hassan Dahir Aweys, an influential cleric designated as a terrorist by Washington -- had yet to comment on Saturday's endorsement, which was part of talks that run until Thursday in Djibouti.
Earlier this month, the rival Islamist leaders met in the Yemeni capital Sanaa in a bid to unify opposition ranks and broaden support for the latest peace efforts.
The shattered African nation has been wracked by violence since the 1991 ouster of dictator Mohamed Siad Barre led to a bloody power struggle that has defied numerous bids to restore normalcy.
Source: AFP, July 19, 2008