SOMALIA:ONE OF Somalia's top Islamic leaders yesterday rejected a peace deal signed between the country's fragile government and the main opposition.
Clashes between Islamic insurgents and Ethiopian troops, whose presence keeps the government from collapse, have forced a million people from the capital, Mogadishu, in the past 18 months.
But Sheikh Hassan Dahir Aweys, who is named on US and UN terrorist lists, said a three-month ceasefire signed in Djibouti would be ignored by his supporters.
"We shall continue fighting until we liberate our country from the enemies of Allah," he told Mogadishu-based Shabelle radio.
News of a peace deal came as a surprise on Monday, hours after it seemed the talks were about to break down.
Somalia's Transitional Federal Government and leaders of the opposition Alliance for the Re-liberation of Somalia agreed to end all acts of aggression within 30 days. It would be followed by the withdrawal of Ethiopian soldiers, to be replaced by a UN peacekeeping force within 120 days.
The presence of Ethiopian forces has been the main sticking point in talks.
An African Union force of 2,600 peacekeepers has struggled to make an impact and the TFG knows that it is vulnerable without Ethiopian support.
However, the Islamist opposition has long seen Ethiopia as a hostile power and has insisted its forces withdraw.
The new deal sets out a timetable for their return to Ethiopian soil, although few analysts believe there is any real chance of a UN force to replace them.
"One problem is that the signatories do not really control the fighters on the ground. So this is really a first step and we now have to wait and see if other leaders will come on board," said one Somalia watcher in Nairobi.
"The significant thing is that it does raise the prospect of Ethiopian withdrawal, although at the moment it is not clear how that can happen." Somalia has experienced almost constant civil conflict since the collapse of Mohamed Siad Barre's regime in January 1991.
The need for a rapid peace deal was underlined by fresh warnings of a humanitarian emergency yesterday following another weekend of heavy fighting.
Up to 3.5 million Somalis will need humanitarian aid this year if the situation in the war-wracked east-African nation fails to improve, according to a United Nations spokeswoman.
"The humanitarian situation continues to deteriorate in Somalia. The situation is serious," said Elisabeth Byrs.