France Urges Dialogue To Avert All-Out War In Somalia

ADDIS ABABA, November 09, 2006 – France called for dialogue between all parties to disputes in lawless Somalia that have brought the country to the edge of a war many fear could engulf the Horn of Africa region.

Amid growing concern that tension between Somalia's weak government and powerful Islamist movement may soon erupt into conflict, a senior French official said it was in nobody's interest for the situation to deteriorate.

Speaking after talks here with top Ethiopian officials, including Prime Minister Meles Zenawi, French cooperation minister Brigitte Girardin urged dialogue to prevent further radicalization of the positions of the two sides.

"This general crisis in the Horn of Africa was a subject in my discussions with the prime minister, among others," she told reporters, adding that the matter was a "serious concern for France."

"We must establish dialogue with all the parties and avoid radicalizing each of them, this is important to bring the two main parties together," she said, adding that Meles told her he was not opposed to dialogue "in principal."

Mainly Christian Ethiopia has warily watched the rise of the Islamists in neighboring Somalia since they seized Mogadishu in June and then rapidly expanded to take control of most of the south and center of the country.

Ethiopia has pledged to defend the Somali government from Islamist attack and has allegedly sent thousands of troops to Somalia, the withdrawal of which is a key Islamist demand for peace talks.

The last planned round of negotiations between the two sides collapsed last week, and government and Islamist forces have been girding for battle outside the transitional administration's seat of Baidoa since.

The Islamists have declared a holy war against the Ethiopian soldiers they say are in Somalia, while Ethiopia has denied deploying thousands of troops but acknowledged it has sent military trainers and advisers.

The situation has been further complicated by alleged support offered to the Islamists by Ethiopia's arch-foe Eritrea, which has denied sending munitions to the Islamist movement and sending 2,000 battle-ready troops there.

Analysts believe Ethiopia and Eritrea may turn Somalia into a proxy battleground for their bloody unresolved 1998-2000 border war.

Source: AFP, Nov 9, 2006