Somalia's Islamic Militia Rebuffs U.N.

Somalis look at Islamic Courts militia guarding the Burmuda Street in Mogadishu, Tuesday, July 25, 2006. A top United Nations envoy arrived Tuesday at the base of Somalia's weak, U.N.-backed transitional government for one day meetings with senior government officials and their rival Islamic aimed at easing tension in the country following reports of Ethiopian troops presence in Somalia. (AP Photo/Mohamed Sheikh Nor) (Mohamed Sheikh Nor - AP)

Fall also met with the government in Baidoa _ the only town controlled by the government _ where a top official said it was ready for the talks.

"We will go to Khartoum without any preconditions," Abdirizak Adam, President Abdullahi Yusuf's chief of staff, said after the meeting in the presidential compound, which was surrounded by hundreds of soldiers in mismatched uniforms. The meeting room had plush furniture, wall-to-wall carpet and heavy curtain blocking out almost all outside light.

A government spokesman said talks still could go on with moderate members of the Islamic militia, even if Aweys was rejecting them.

"Aweys is a terrorist, so it not surprising that he is refusing talks," Salad Ali Jeeley said. "We hope the moderate Islamists will attend the meeting."

Somalia has been without an effective central government since warlords toppled dictator Mohamed Siad Barre in 1991 and then turned on each other, carving much of the country into armed camps ruled by violence and clan law.

The government was established almost two years ago with the support of the U.N. to serve as a transitional body to help Somalia emerge from anarchy. But the leadership, which includes some warlords linked to the violence of the past, has failed to establish any power.

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Associated Press writers Salad Duhul and Mohamed Sheikh Nor in Mogadishu, Mohamed Olad Hassan in Baidoa and Les Neuhaus in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, contributed to this report.