"The last phase of the talks should be held inside Somalia, as talks in Kenya are too expensive, too problematic for Somalis and have already collapsed in the eyes of the Somalis," Habeb said by telephone from his stronghold of Jawhar, 90 km north of Mogadishu.
On Friday, the regional Inter-Governmental Authority on Development (Igad) urged some half a dozen Somali warlords to return to the talks to discuss the remaining sticking points regarding power-sharing and finalise a comprehensive peace deal.
In January a broad section of Somali leaders signed a charter under which a parliament and president will be elected and a draft constitution approved.
Habeb, who said that a 15-member committee has been formed to oversee and finalise the third phase of the talks, urged Somalis to back a Somali venue for the planned conference in order to legitimise its outcome.
"If the final stage of power sharing is held in Somalia, its outcome would gain legitimacy among Somalis," said Habeb, who controls the Middle Shabelle region.
Somalia descended into anarchy in 1991 when the dictator Mohammed Siad Barre was toppled, plunging the poor Horn of Africa nation into a bloody clan conflict.
More than a dozen peace internationally backed conferences have failed to return normalcy to the country. – Sapa-AFP.
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