Extremist role ruled out in Somali talks

Cairo: The Arab League yesterday said "extremists" should have no role in national reconciliation in Somalia where close to 400 civilians have been killed in recent fighting between insurgents and the Ethiopian-backed government.

Arab League Secretary-General Amr Mousa told the opening session of the International Contact Group on Somalia that reconciliation was the key to ending fighting in Mogadishu, which aid agencies say is the worst in 15 years.

But the process should not include "those who chose the way of violence and extremism", he added in an apparent reference to the country's formerly powerful Islamist movement.

The contact group includes representatives of the European Union, Britain, Italy, Norway, Sweden, Tanzania and the United States, with the United Nations and African Union as observers.

Norwegian Deputy Foreign Minister Raymond Johansen told the meeting the Ethiopian military presence in Somalia was unsustainable and it was time to prepare for a withdrawal. Moussa agreed, saying the solution was to deploy an African Union force as the Ethiopians pull out.