Warring regions in Somalia agree to immediate ceasefire in UAE sponsored talks

Galmudug and Puntland have agreed to immediate ceasefire in the border town of Galkaayo which has been the epicenter of fighting in the last few weeks, the two have said following Emirati sponsored peace talks in Abu Dhabi.

In a five point statement, the two warring states have also agreed to stop any provocation and that all displaced persons be facilitated to a safe return.

The talks which were attended by Galmudug state president Abdikarin Guled, Puntland’s Abdiweli Gaas, Jubbaland President Ahmed Madobe and the Prime Minister Omar Sharmarke also settled for a joint committee to find a lasting solution to the fighting.

The UN said two weeks ago an upwards of 75,000 people had been displaced from their homes and dozens killed in a vicious fight over control of Galkaayo by both states.

Leaders from both regions will converge in November 20 in Kismayo to seal an agreement, the two states said in a joint statement Tuesday.

Similar peace agreement last December failed to yield lasting peace despite local and international intervention.

The UAE government Tuesday commended the agreement noting it ‘will stand by Somalia in efforts to stop bloodshed, restore peace and stability, and deliver on aspirations of the Somali people’.