Somali national reconciliation conference postponed

An official source in Djibouti said on Wednesday that the Somali reconciliation conference which was supposed to start as of today in Djibouti was postponed until May 2.

AFP said that observers in Djibouti consider the announcement of the postponement on the fall of inaugurating the conference as a sign that an acceptable number of participants is not available, and sufficient preparations were not met.

Only Ali Mahdai of the leaders of the warring factions that control Mogadishu had agreed to take part in this conference.

The international group which seeks to establish peace in Somalia currently prefers the civil society at the expense of many of the warlords who have divided the country by acts of violence for almost ten years.

The attempt to convene this conference for that purpose is the 13th since President Muhammad Seyad Berri was toppled in 1991.