Somalia: Peace

Kofi Annan has welcomed the Declaration on the Cessation of Hostilities in Somalia, paving the way for a peace agreement between the warring factions, which has brought the country to a state of anarchy.

The Somali National Reconciliation Conference endorsed the Declaration of the Cessation of Hostilities and the Structures and Principles of the Somalia National Reconciliation Process, under the auspices of the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) in Kenya.

Kofi Annan has urged all factions involved to move into the following phase of the national reconciliation process “with determination and a true spirit of reconciliation”, calling for an immediate cessation of the violence which still exists in parts of Somalia so that humanitarian aid can be brought to those in need.

Kofi Annan commended the considerable work performed by Kenyan President Daniel Arap Moi and the three IGAD countries, Kenya, Ethiopia and Djibouti, in obtaining the peace settlement.

Timothy BANCROFT-HINCHEY PRAVDA.RU