Ethiopia and Yemen will coordinate efforts for the success of the Somali peace talks in Eldoret, Kenya, the Ethiopian News Agency (ENA) reported on Tuesday. The two countries made the pledge during a meeting between their foreign ministers in Addis Ababa.

According to the ENA, the ministers expressed their hope that the Eldoret peace talks would be fruitful because of efforts by the East African body of Inter-Governmental Authority on Development (IGAD).

At the same time, most Somali clans currently attending the peace talks have delivered lists of their participants for membership of the six committees.

Last week the technical committee of IGAD proposed a clan-based formula to try to break the deadlock. Since the opening of the talks on Oct. 15, there has been a stalemate over the allocation of delegates’ seats, with each group wanting more participants.

In the second phase of the talks, the six committees are to make recommendations on such issues as federalism, disarmament, and land rights. The power struggle over the allocation of seats has, however, delayed this phase.

According to the reports, the three main clans — Hawiye, Dir, and Rahanwein (Digil-Mirifle) and the minority groups - have delivered their lists.

The major clan, Darood, has not yet handed over its list.

Meanwhile, Jacobus Richelle, the European Union Director-General for Development, said last week that the Somali participants had been told that they must reach conclusions on setting up technical committees as well as on the numbers taking part in the talks.

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On Monday the regional administration of Puntland denied that troops had been mobilized in the disputed regions of Sool and Sanag. Abdishakuur Mire Adan, the Puntland deputy information minister denied the report.

Both regions, located between the northern self-declared regional administrations of Somaliland and Puntland, have been claimed by both authorities. Since Somaliland seceded in 1991, it has claimed that the Sool and Sanag regions fall geographically within the former British protectorate and so is part of its territory. The Puntland administration, established in 1997, on the other hand, claims that most of the clans in the regions are of Puntland origin.

Press reports said tension was high in the area as the two sides tried to assert control and win the support of the population. Some Puntland sources alleged on a UN website that the Puntland authorities were sending a delegation to counter a perceived shift by some elders in the area to the Somaliland side.

"There are fears that some prominent elders, particularly in Sool, are trying to shift the balance in favor of Somaliland," they said.

Adan said, "It is normal for a Puntland government delegation to visit the area since both regions are part and parcel of Puntland. I don’t see any reason why Puntland officials visiting Sool and Sanag should cause any tension. The people in these regions consider themselves part of Puntland."

28 November 2002