EU Delegation Pushes Somalia Peace Talks
December 13, 2006

European Union delegation visiting Somalia's capital urged the country's increasingly powerful Islamic militia to resume peace talks with the government amid fears of war, an Islamic official said Wednesday. The five-member delegation, including the Italian envoy to Somalia, Mario Raffaelli, met Tuesday with top leaders of the Council of Islamic Courts. The delegation was expected to meet soon with members of the government in Baidoa, the only town the administration controls. A call to Raffaelli's Kenyan telephone rang unanswered Wednesday and the delegation did not speak to reporters.

The growing tension in Somalia, which has not had an effective government since 1991, threatens to erupt into a regional war. Ibrahim Hassan Adow, the Islamic group's foreign affairs chief, said Wednesday that he told the EU delegates that 'the worst-case scenario would continue to loom' unless troops from neighboring Ethiopia leave Somalia. His group had said Tuesday it would launch a major attack on Ethiopian troops if they don't withdraw within seven days.Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi dismissed the threat, saying it was 'nothing new.'Ethiopia supports the internationally recognized government and has acknowledged sending military advisers, although not a fighting force. But a confidential U.N. report obtained by the AP in October said up to 8,000 Ethiopian troops were in Somalia or along the border backing the government. Several peace initiatives between the Somali government and the Islamic council have failed to take hold, with both sides trading accusations over who is to blame for the deadlock.