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UN-backed team in central Somali town for ceasefire

Xinhua, November 20, 2016 Adjust font size:

A UN-backed team has been deployed in the restive central Somali town of Galkayo, where clashes between rival state forces have killed more than 45 people, to help ensure ceasefire.

In a statement, the UN Assiatance Mission in Somalia (UNSOM) said Saturday the ceasefire team, led by officials from regional bloc Inter-Governmental Authority on Development (IGAD), had began its work by meeting leaders of the rival states and representatives of communities from both sides of the conflict.

More than 45 people were killed and over 90,000 people displaced since fighting between forces from Galmudug state and those of Puntland state broke out in Galkayo on Oct. 7.

Galkayo is currently divided into two districts, with Galmudug state governing the southern district and Puntland state the north.

The town has been beset by recurrent clashes between Galmudug and Puntland forces.

The UN-backed team will work with both sides to ensure the implementation of a peace agreement reached by Presidents Abdiweli Mohamed Ali Gaas of Puntland and Abdikarim Hussein Guled of Galmudug state in Galkayo on Friday, the UNSOM said.

"The deployment of the ceasefire team to Galkayo today is a sign of the importance that the international community attaches to the resolution of this conflict," said Michael Keating, Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General in Somalia, in the statement.

The deal brokered by the UN on Friday retirerated a ceasefire in Galkayo and established a 2km-wide buffer zone between the rival state forces stationed in the town.

The team will also work with a 18-member joint committee of Puntland and Galmudug representatives to advise on and support practical arrangements for implementing the ceasefire.

The state leaders previously agreed on a ceasefire in Abu Dhabi on Nov. 1, but clashes continued one day later.

"Primary responsibility for enforcing and monitoring an agreed ceasefire in and around the disputed city rests with the two state presidents and their security forces," the statement said.

The statement said definitive cessation of hostilities in Galkayo was essential for the return of those displaced residents to their homes, as well as for the success of efforts to resolve the underlying causes of the conflict. Endit