Somali Islamists reject talks before departure of Ethiopian troops

SOMALIA’S powerful Islamists yesterday said they would not attend peace talks with the interim government until Ethiopian troops left their soil.

The fragile interim government had earlier agreed to the talks in Sudan, responding to a UN drive to avert war in the country.

“We will go to Khartoum without any preconditions,” said Abdirizak Adam, interim President Abdullahi Yusuf’s chief of staff.