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A 50-strong
delegation from the Rahanwein clan that controls much of southern
Somalia has arrived in Djibouti for talks aimed at ending
nearly a decade of civil war, Radio Djibouti said Friday.
The delegation,
which arrived late on Thursday, includes clan chiefs and a
representative of the Rahanwien Resistance Army (RRA), a heavyweight
among the militias who have carved Somalia into fiefdoms since
1991.
The talks,
being held on the basis of a peace plan drawn up by Djibouti
President Ismail Omar Guelleh, began in Arta, 30 kilometres
(20 miles) south of Djibouti city, on Tuesday.
The conference
is intended as a first step towards reestablishing a parliament
and government structures which have not been in place since
the ouster of dictator Mohamed Siad Barre in 1991.
Guelleh's
initiative, the 13th such attempt to restore a semblance of
normality to Somalia, has received strong support from the
international community but been rejected outright by most
of the country's warlords.
Unlike
previous peace bids, the Djibouti leader's plan hinges partly
on talks among representatives of all kinds of civilian and
professional groups in the country, rather than focussing
on the clan leaders and their militias.
Until
Friday, only one warlord had attended the conference, along
with some 400 civilian Somalis.
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