Somalia's new president said on Tuesday that peace talks were progressing and he hoped soon to have a direct dialogue with opponents, including militant Islamist group al Shabaab.
President Sheikh Sharif Ahmed, in an interview with Reuters, also said he supported sharia law for Somalia and saw no reason for African Union (AU) peacekeepers to leave, as some opponents are demanding.
The failed Horn of Africa state has suffered civil conflict for nearly two decades, and Western security services fear it could be a base for al Qaeda-linked militants.
Ahmed was elected in January under a U.N.-brokered reconciliation process that is Somalia's 15th attempt to set up a central government since 1991.
"The peace talks are making progress, and I expect we will succeed in having a face-to-face meeting with the opposition," Ahmed said when asked about moves to start a dialogue with al Shabaab and others opposed to his government.
He said respected elders were leading the mediation efforts.
"Somalia peace efforts are now being spearheaded by volunteer elders and sheikhs. I believe they are the right people to take the lead," Ahmed said during a visit to Kenya.
Ahmed said his government's priorities were to restore security across Somalia and re-establish good relations with African neighbours and the rest of the world.
WE NEED PEACEKEEPERS
He dismissed calls for the AU force of 3,500 soldiers -- all from Uganda and Burundi -- to leave Somalia, saying they were needed to support the pacification process.
"Of course we need these troops. Burundian troops, for instance, did not come to slay Somalis. They were called in to help calm the crisis and assist the Somalia government and its people," he said.
A suicide and mortar bomb attack killed 11 Burundian soldiers last month. Al Shabaab claimed responsibility.
"Given that there is a problem in the country, they will be victimised too. Thus the issue of the peacekeeping troops will be discussed in consideration of the will of governments and the people who contributed to these troops," said Ahmed, who flew on to Burundi on Tuesday.
The president, a scholarly former high-school geography teacher and one-time leader of a sharia courts movement, said Islamic law should be the basis of Somali society.
"Sharia was the foundation for the lives of Somali people in the past," he said, saying Somalia's transitional constitution could be modified if necessary. "I hope the cabinet and parliament will discuss it in a logical, responsible way."
Having been picked up by Kenyan security forces on the border at the start of 2007, when his sharia movement was routed by Ethiopian troops, Ahmed said this time he received a "great welcome" from the government including President Mwai Kibaki.
Ahmed said he discussed with Kibaki how to improve security on a frontier notorious for cross-border violence, and how Nairobi might help the Somali government in training security forces, improving tax-collection, immigration and health.
SOURCE: Reuters
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