2 Somali Warlords Agree to Cease-Fire
A day after the United Nations announced that it was giving up on peace talks for Somalia, the country’s two most powerful warlords agreed Thursday to arrange a cease-fire and set up a new government.
But the agreement between Gen. Mohammed Farah Aidid and Ali Mahdi Mohamed does not ensure stability. Previous agreements have quickly fallen apart.
The latest came only after the United Nations, exasperated by the failure of two weeks of talks in the Kenyan capital, said it would stop paying food and hotel costs for the negotiators from Somalia’s 15 rival factions.
In Washington, President Clinton praised the accord: “Because of their courageous efforts, Somalia can now build its own future, a step it made in the right direction today with the accord between the leaders of the two largest factions in that country.”
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