Somali prime minister says open for talks with foes
NAIROBI (AFP) — Somali Prime Minister Nur Hassan Hussein on Monday said his government was open for talks with rivals to end years of turmoil in the Horn of African nation.
"We are ready to talk to those who are fighting in Mogadishu. Nobody is exempted from negotiations," Hussein told AFP during an interview in Nairobi.
Islamist militia have waged near-daily attacks in the seaside city against government targets and Ethiopian forces that helped it topple an Islamist rule in Mogadishu in late 2006.
"I need the support of elders, religious leaders, women, youth and the Somali intellectuals for their contribution in pacifying the nation," he said.
Hussein is the second prime minister in Somalia's transitional government that is struggling to end years of violence and an Islamist-led insurgency ravaging the capital.
His predecessor was forced to resign in October after a long-running power struggle with the president.
Bloody clan conflict and power struggles that erupted after the 1991 ouster of dictator Mohamed Siad Barre have scuppered numerous initiatives to restore national stability.
