Islamist rejects Somali peace deal

MOGADISHU, Somalia (AP) -- A leader of Somalia's ousted Islamic movement rejected a U.N.-brokered peace deal between the government and an opposition alliance, saying Tuesday that Islamic insurgents will continue to fight.

The Somali government and the opposition Alliance for the Re-Liberation of Somalia agreed late Monday to end months of violence and set a timetable for the withdrawal of Ethiopian troops called into back up Somalia's fragile government.

The deal was an important step toward peace, but it remains to if hard-line members of the opposition -- who have denounced those who took part in the U.N.-led talks in Djibouti -- will respect the accord.

"The so-called deal is rubbish and inconsequential," Sheik Hassan Dahir Aweys, who is on U.S. and U.N. lists of terrorism suspects, told The Associated Press. "It will not in any way result in peace."

A main sticking point is the withdrawal of Ethiopian troops who have been in Somalia since 2006 to help government forces battle Islamic fighters. The opposition sees the Ethiopians as an occupying force.

Under the accord reached late Monday, both sides agreed to "end all acts of armed confrontation" within 30 days and to act within 120 days to remove Ethiopian troops once a U.N. peacekeeping force is deployed.

The U.N. Security Council has said it would consider deploying peacekeepers to replace African Union troops if there is improved political reconciliation and security.

The AU force is struggling. It is authorized to have 8,000 soldiers but currently has 2,600 from Uganda and Burundi.

On Tuesday, Somalis in the capital, scene of seemingly endless death and destruction, held out hope that the deal would bring peace.

"We have suffered for so long. We are tired of war," said Fadumo Ali, a businesswoman. "Enough is enough."

Members of the Security Council visited Djibouti last week to encourage Somalia's government and the opposition alliance to hold direct peace talks.

The opposition ruled out face-to-face talks unless the government sets a timetable for the withdrawal of Ethiopian troops, while President Abdullahi Yusuf said Ethiopian forces would not leave until fighting stops and a U.N. peacekeeping force is deployed. The turning point in talks Monday was not immediately clear.

Somalia's shaky transitional government was formed in 2004 with the help of the United Nations but has failed to assert any real control over the chaotic country. The government called in troops from neighboring Ethiopia in December 2006 to oust Islamic militants who had seized control of the capital, Mogadishu, and most of southern Somalia.

The insurgency that started soon after remains a potent and disruptive force, and a continuing threat to Yusuf's government, which is backed by both the United States and the European Union.

The country also is facing a worsening humanitarian crisis aggravated by high global food prices and drought.

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