19/08/08 (B461) Signature d’un accord à Djibouti pour la paix en Somalie (4 dépêches en Français et en Anglais)

_________________________ Reuters (en Français)

Le gouvernement somalien et des opposants signent un accord

Le gouvernement somalien et des représentants de l’opposition ont signé formellement un accord de paix accepté en juin, annoncent des responsables de l’Onu, mais le texte, rejeté par les représentants en exil de l’opposition « dure », n’a pour l’heure pas fait diminuer les violences.

Plus de 8.000 civils ont été tués et un million d’autres déracinés depuis le début des combats, l’année dernière, entre le gouvernement intérimaire et les forces éthiopiennes d’une part et les rebelles islamistes qui tentent de prendre le contrôle du pays d’autre part.

Lundi, le gouvernement du président Abdoullahi Youssouf et quelques dirigeants d’opposition ont ratifié l’accord trouvé le 9 juin à Djibouti sous l’égide des Nations unies.

« Les parties sont convenues de poursuivre le dialogue politique et d’éviter les déclarations incendiaires », ont dit les Nations unies dans un communiqué.

Elles « condamnent fermement les auteurs ainsi que ceux qui financent et organisent les violences visant des innocents, tels que les meurtres, bombardements sans distinction, pillages, viols et actes de piraterie.

Conformément au souhait de l’opposition, l’accord de Djibouti prévoit le remplacement des troupes éthiopiennes par des soldats de maintien de la paix de l’Onu, qui prendraient également la place de la force de l’Union africaine, aux effectifs et moyens faibles.

Mais les discussions ont été dénigrées par la frange dure de l’opposition et ont mis en lumière les divisions au sein de l’Alliance pour la Re-libération de la Somalie (ARS).

Depuis juin, le texte n’a pas eu d’effet significatif sur les violences, à l’image des accords analogues trouvés précédemment, dont celui issu de six semaines de pourparlers à Mogadiscio l’année dernière.

Vendredi, près de 50 personnes ont été tuées par les troupes éthiopiennes et somaliennes qui ont ouvert le feu sur des civils en représailles à l’explosion de deux bombes au passage de leur convoi, selon des habitants.

Le gouvernement éthiopien a nié ces violences et cité une enquête somalienne imputant ces morts à une attaque à la bombe du groupe rebelle Shabaab.

Daniel Wallis et Tsegaye Tadesse,
version française Grégory Blachier

_________________________ JDD (En Français)

Somalie: Accord de gouvernement

Le gouvernement somalien et des représentants de l’opposition ont signé formellement un accord de paix accepté en juin, ont annoncé mardi des responsables de l’ONU, mais le texte, rejeté par les représentants en exil de l’opposition « dure », n’a pour l’heure pas fait diminuer les violences.

Plus de 8 000 civils ont été tués et un million d’autres déracinés depuis le début des combats, l’année dernière, entre le gouvernement intérimaire et les forces éthiopiennes d’une part et les rebelles islamistes qui tentent de prendre le contrôle du pays d’autre part.

_________________________ Shabelle Media (En Anglais)

Somali rivals Sign Peace Deal in Djibouti.
Les rivaux somaliens signent un accord de paix à Djibouti.

By: Abdinasir Guled

Somalia’s interim government and some opposition figures signed a peace deal on Monday that called for the rapid deployment of a robust United Nations force.

It was the latest in a series of such agreements.

Some Opposition members in exile and insurgents in Somalia had dismissed the United Nations-led talks here in Djibouti, so it was unclear what effect it might have on the ground.

United Nations envoy for Somalia, Ahmedou Ould-Abdallah, told Shabelle that the two sides had agreed to end all acts of armed confrontation.

The main opposition demand has been that Ethiopian soldiers helping the government fight Islamist rebels leave Somalia.

Mr. Abdalla said that the two sides have established a committee implementing the agreement jointly signed by the Government and the opposition on 9th June 2008.

Fighting between the guerrillas and allied Somali-Ethiopian troops killed thousands of civilians in two years after Ethiopian troops entered in the country.

A contingent of 2,200 African peacekeepers has made little headway in stemming the conflict, and the United Nations is reluctant to intervene until security improves.

The violence in Somalia has set off a crisis that aid workers say may be the worst in Africa, with at least a million refugees in a nation torn by constant civil conflict since the 1991 toppling of a military dictator by warlords.

__________________ The agreement articles are as follows:-

Communiqué by the Transitional Federal Government
and
The Alliance for the Re-Liberation of Somalia

1. The Transitional Federal Government (TFG) and the Alliance for the Re-liberation of Somalia (ARS) held the first meetings of the High Level Committee and the Joint Security Committee in Djibouti from 16 to 18 August 2008. The international community, including diplomats from regional organizations (African Union, European Union, League of Arab States) and individual countries, as well as representatives of Somali civil society and business community, attended as observers.

2. They adopted the Terms of Reference for both Committees and discussed practical means of implementing the Djibouti Agreement.

3. The Parties agreed to continue the political dialogue between themselves and refrain from making inflammatory statements. They reaffirmed their commitment to cease all armed confrontation and to establish sub committees to implement the arrangements to that end.

4. They welcomed all efforts undertaken by Somali nationals, including through supportive meetings inside and outside Somalia, as well as those of the international community to help implement the Djibouti Agreement.

5. The Parties strongly condemn the perpetrators as well as those who mastermind and fund violence which targets innocent people, including killings, indiscriminate shelling, looting, raping and acts of piracy.

6. The TFG and the ARS are very concerned by the seriousness of the humanitarian situation in the country and the continued suffering of their compatriots. The Parties agree on the critical need to address this situation in all its dimensions – political, security and access. They call on the international community to urgently provide humanitarian assistance to the needy people of Somalia. In this connection, the Parties reaffirmed their strong determination to help ensure unhindered humanitarian access and assistance.

7. The Parties call on the international community to provide full support for the High Level Committee and the Joint Security Committee, particularly in their work in establishing a national mechanism for humanitarian access and assistance.

8. The Parties call on the United Nations Security Council to accelerate the deployment of a UN peacekeeping force to facilitate the withdrawal of Ethiopian forces from Somalia.

9. The Parties would like to reassure the Somali population that they are determined to strengthen their commitment for peace, stability, unity, sovereignty, territorial integrity and dignity in Somalia.

10. The Parties thank the Government and people of Djibouti for their hospitality during the meetings of the High Level Committee and the Joint Security Committee.

11. The parties also express their appreciation to the international community for its generous support and invite it to remain supportive of the Djibouti Agreement, formally signed on 18 August 2008, to help start its effective implementation.

Djibouti
18 August 2008
High Level Committee

_________________________ Press TV (En Anglais)

Somali peace deal finalized in Djibouti.
L’accord de paix pour la Somalie a été signé à Djibouti

Somali gov’t representatives and a number of opposition figures have formally signed a UN-sponsored peace deal in Djibouti.

The pact between the Eritrea-based opposition Alliance for the Re-Liberation of Somalia (ARS) and the government called for continued dialogue between the parties and advised against any ‘inflammatory statements’.

It also condemned ‘the perpetrators as well as those who mastermind and fund violence which targets innocent people, including killings, indiscriminate shelling, looting, raping and acts of piracy’.

The agreement, however, has failed to generate much enthusiasm, with people being skeptical that it would stop Ethiopians from killing Somalis, Press TV correspondent reported.

A senior leader of the Islamic Courts Union (ICU), Sheikh Hassan Dahir Aweys, also rejected the peace deal.

The ARS and the Somali Prime Minister Nur Hassan Hussein had inked an initial accord in early June in Djibouti, calling for the termination of all acts of armed confrontation for a period of 90 days.

The agreement also called on the United Nations to facilitate the withdrawal of Ethiopian forces by deploying its peacekeepers to Somalia.

The US-backed Ethiopian troops have long been criticized for indiscriminate killings and some of the worst human rights violations in Somalia.

Amnesty International said in May that it obtained scores of reports of killings by Ethiopian troops that Somalis have described as « slaughtering like goats ».

According to the rights group, some 6,000 civilians were reported killed and more than 600,000 were forced to flee their homes in the Somali capital, Mogadishu, last year.