Somali Government Welcomes Ethiopia-ONLF Talks In Nairobi

Somali government on Thursday welcomed the talks between Ethiopia and Somali ethnic repel group, which is going on in the Kenyan capital, Nairobi.

The talks between government of Ethiopia and Ogaden National Liberation Front  (ONLF) began on Sunday.

Somalia’s foreign minister, Ahmed Issa Awad who spoke to VOA Somali service said Somalia welcomes any efforts aimed at restoring peace the region.

“We see every any talks intended to restore peace and stability in the region as beneficial one, we welcome and support it,” said Awad.

The three day talks between sides was extended on Wednesday after the sides tabled difficult issues that made talks to take longer.

Ethipia-ONLF talks held in Kenya between 2012 and 2013  had collapsed due to the hard conditions forwarded by the sides.

ONLF which was founded 1984 wants referendum for separation of Oil and Gas rich Ogaden region from Ethiopia.

Refoulement of ONLF commander

Six months after the extradition of Qalbi-Dhagah, Somali president Mohamed Abdullahi Farmaajo spoke out for the first time about the banishment of Qalbi-Dhagah.

Opposing the move by his cabinet indirectly, President Farmaajo said that the decision was reached by the parliament.

“As you know, the parliament which is the top legislative body had debated on the issue and reached a decision after voting, therefore I think it is the final one,” said President Farmaajo during an interview with BBC Somali Service

Somali government had extradited ONLF commander, Abdikarim Musa Qalbi-Dhagah last August following a raid by security forces on his hotel in Galkayo town.

Days later, Somali cabinet issued a statement recognizing ONLF as a terrorist group and accused the extradited commander of having relations with Al-shabab fighters.

The move mounted public outage, forcing parliament to intervene the situation.

After conclusion of  an investigation into the case, a Somali parliamentary committee last September found the Refoulement of Qalbi-Dhagah to be illegal