Khartoum hosts the Somali reconciliation conference

IGAD states have agreed on al-Khartoum to host a conference to unify the Somali factions, following the IGAD's summit conference due to be organized by Sudan in the next week of January 2002., according to the Sudanese daily al-Rai al-Am.

The paper quoted Sudan's ambassador in Addis Ababa Othman al-Sayed as saying that Ali Abdul Rahman al- Numeiri, the envoy of the Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir, the current chairman of IGAD had met with IGAD's ambassadors and partners in Addis Ababa to learn about their view points concerning al-Khartoum's efforts to organize a conference for the Somali factions.

Al-Sayyed added that IGAD's states and partners ambassadors agreed to organize a conference for the Somali groups in al-Khartoum after they had received a detailed report from the envoy of President al-Bashir to Somalia which concentrated on Sudan's efforts to solve the Somali question.

Al-Sayed indicated that the Somali groups conference will be held after IGAD's conference in al-Khartoum which is scheduled the second week of January.