Thursday, July 22, 2010
Mogadishu, Somalia (APA)
- The president of the transitional federal government (TFG) of Somalia, Sheik Sharif Sheik Ahmed, arrived late Wednesday in the Chadian capital, N’djamena, for the 12th summit of the Community of Sahel-Saharan States (CEN-SAD) on 22-23 July, APA learns on Thursday in Mogadishu.
The Somali leader is among 28 leaders from Sahel and Saharan countries who are holding their annual summit, which opens Thursday in N’djamena.
Chadian president Idriss Deby received Somali president upon arrival and both leaders had a special dinner during which Somali president gave the Chadian leader detailed information about the latest political, security and social situation in his country.
The CEN-SAD leaders will on Thursday commence a high-level meeting with the desperate situation in Somalia being high on the agenda.
Somalia’s world-backed weak government is tackling local and international terrorists who are fighting to topple nd replace it with the Taliban-like Islamic style that ruled Afghanistan before the US lead invasion late in 2001 in the aftermath of the 9/11 attacks that rocked New York and Washington in 2001.
Fighting in the capital Mogadishu has killed more than 22,000 people mainly civilians and displaced more than 1.5 million others from their homes since January 2007.
The 12th CEN-SAD summit is being held ahead of the 15th African Union (AU) summit in Kampala, Uganda (25-27 July).
CEN-SAD members countries are Benin, Burkina Faso, Central African Rep., Comoros, Cote d’Ivoire, Djibouti, Egypt, Eritrea, The Gambia, Guinea, Guinea Bissau, Ghana, Liberia, Kenya, Mali, Mauritania, Morocco, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Somalia, Sao Tome e Principe, Sudan, Chad, Togo, Tunisia and Libya with its head of state Muammar Khadafi as CEN-SAD chairman.
Source: APA