Key Somali politicians gathered on Sunday in Mogadishu at the start of a three-day conference focused on national reconciliation and the creation of a stable federal government for the war-torn country, dpa reported. The talks, sponsored by the United Nations and heavily guarded by African Union peacekeepers, brings together officials from the weak transitional federal government and authorities from several autonomous areas. Ahead of the conference, Somali President Sheikh Sharif Ahmed paid a rare visit to the breakaway region of Puntland, trying to relink the strategic area with Mogadishu. The first major meeting in Mogadishu in at least four years will seek to wrap up the transitional period of the current cabinet and parliament and bring about a more stable federal authority within the next year that can be effective across the whole of Somalia. The UN and Somalia governmental officials hope the parties will also begin the work on drafting a new national constitution and setting the framework for elections to take place. -- SPA
