Monday, October 27, 2008
By Jason McLure
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Oct. 27 (Bloomberg) -- Ethiopian troops will begin a phased withdrawal from neighboring Somalia on Nov. 21 under a cease- fire agreement between that country's transitional government and one faction of Islamist rebels, Agence France-Presse said.The transitional government and the opposition Alliance for the Re-Liberation of Somalia will implement a peace deal first signed in June in Djibouti, AFP said, citing Susannah Price, a spokeswoman for the United Nations envoy to Somalia. A cease- fire will start on Nov. 5, the news agency reported yesterday.
As part of the deal Ethiopian troops will withdraw from the capital, Mogadishu, and the central town of Beledweyne by Nov. 21, leaving African Union troops in control. The deal also calls for them to pull out entirely within 120 days, the report said. The UN couldn't say when the 120-day timeline begins.
U.S.-backed Ethiopian troops invaded Somalia in December 2006, ousting an Islamist government and installing the UN- supported transitional government. Fighting between pro- government forces and Islamic insurgents has driven one million people from their homes. Somalia's most powerful opposition group, the al-Shabaab militia, is not party to the agreement.
Wahde Belay, a spokesman for Ethiopia's foreign ministry, said he couldn't immediately comment. Bereket Simon, an adviser to Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi, had his phone switched off when called today.
SOURCE: Bloomberg, Monday, October 27, 2008