Somali Islamist group rejects truce plans

MOGADISHU : Hardline Islamists in Somalia rejected on Sunday a ceasefire offer which had been accepted by new President Sharif Sheikh Ahmed, and vowed to keep up their attacks on government forces.

The president, elected on January 31, reached out to hardliners on Saturday by accepting mediators' requests for a ceasefire and offering to introduce sharia law across the war-torn country.

But Hizb al-Islamiya (Islamic Party), a group of hardline Islamists who claimed bloody attacks in the capital last week, rejected the proposals.

"The information regarding a ceasefire plan between our group and the government is baseless. We will attack the enemy and their stooges anytime we want," spokesman Muse Abdi Arale said.

Ahmed said on Saturday that he had accepted proposals by local and religious leaders mediating between his fledgling government and the hardliners.

"I met with religious leaders and elders and accepted their demand for a ceasefire and reconciliation with the opposition members, and I call on all opposition parties to halt the unnecessary violence," Ahmed told reporters.

"The mediators asked me to introduce Islamic sharia law in the country and I agreed," he added.

However, Arale, the rebel spokesman, said his group had met with the mediators but only discussed plans for a partial withdraw of its fighters.

Foreign and local religious leaders have launched a peace bid to reconcile rival Somali groups and bring an end to their leaders' bickering and rivalry that has blocked numerous attempts to end the conflict.

Ahmed, a former Islamist rebel leader, became president in January following a United Nations-brokered reconciliation between his opposition group and the transitional government.

He pledged to form an inclusive government and reach out to hardline opponents.

But the Islamist forces opposed to UN-sponsored reconciliation bids have launched several deadly attacks against the government and African Union forces in recent days.

At least 30 people were killed last week in the worst clashes since the president was elected on January 31.

Hizb al-Islamiya and the radical Shebab militia are the two main groups opposed to the government in Mogadishu.

The Shebab and other militia have retaken much of southern and central Somalia where they were uprooted by the Ethiopia-backed government forces in early 2007. The tide turned back in their favor when Ethiopia withdrew the last of its forces last month.

Last month, hardliners wrenched control of the south-central town of Baidoa, the seat of the transitional federal parliament.

They also claimed responsibility for a suspected suicide attack against African Union troops in Mogadishu that killed 11 Burundian peacekeepers last weekend.

Ahmed's cabinet, comprising 36 ministers, has relocated to Mogadishu from neighboring Djibouti, where the government was formed. Foreign Minister Mohamed Abdullah Omar said restoring security was its top priority.

The departure of Ethiopian troops has left the under strength AU as the only foreign force in the country, and now the main target for Islamist attacks.

The Horn of Africa state has lacked a central authority since the eruption of a civil war with the 1991 ouster of president Mohamed Siad Barre.