A round of planned peace talks between the Somali government and Islamists which was due to open in Sudan on Monday had been thrown into jeopardy after the powerful Islamists demanded withdrawal of the Ethiopian troops in the lawless nation.

"We will not take part in the Khartoum talks unless Ethiopia withdraws its troops from Somalia," said the Supreme Council of Islamic Courts (SCIC) Spokesman Ibrahim Hassan Adow Sunday, according to reports reaching here.

The threat was issued on the eve of a third round of talks in the Sudanese capital Khartoum, which was supposed to focus on power sharing between the two rivals amid fears that a war could escalate in the region.

Adow also vowed that his movement would not accept Kenya's mediation in the Arab League-sponsored peace talks.

"We demand the exclusion of Kenya. The government of Kenya is not neutral in the Somali conflict and its presence will not be accepted by the Islamic courts," said Adow.

"The transitional federal government is an institution serving the interests of Ethiopia , therefore we are demanding the immediate withdrawal of troops from Addis Ababa. We will attend but these are our demands," he said.

Kenya, which chairs the seven-nation regional mediation body, the Inter Governmental Authority on Development (IGAD), was appointed co-chair of the Khartoum talks earlier this month after the transitional government accused the Arab League, which had been the sole mediator in two earlier rounds, of bias toward the Islamists.

The SCIC spokesman said that Kenya and Ethiopia's bias in the dispute were impeding the peace process.

"We are committed to the peace process and are keen on going to the meeting in Khartoum but there are two obstacles - one is the Ethiopian invasion of Somalia, and the other is the idea of Kenya co-chairing the meeting," Adow said.

Kenyan ambassador to Somalia Mohammed Affey has said the planned talks would go ahead as planned, dismissing allegations by the SCIC that Kenya, which will co-chair the meeting in Khartoum with the League of Arab States, had taken sides in the dispute.

"The meeting is on and Kenya will play a facilitation role. We will do our best to be good mediators. The Arab League has confirmed to Kenyan authorities that both parties in the conflict would attend the meeting in Khartoum," Affey said by telephone.

The SCIC has accused Ethiopia of sending troops to back the interim government in Somalia that opposes the Islamists. Addis Ababa has acknowledged sending a few hundred military instructors to train Somali government forces.

Eritrea, accused by some of opening a second front against arch rival Ethiopia in Somalia, has denied reports it had sent thousands of troops to support the Islamists against the United Nations-backed government.

Eritrea instead accused the United States of "pure fabrication" following the leaking of a confidential UN briefing note which concluded that thousands of Ethiopian and Eritrean troops are in Somalia, backing opposing sides in the struggle for supremacy in the strategic country.

"The truth behind this campaign is to cover up the U.S. government's plans and war it is carrying out in Somalia and the Horn of Africa in general through its agent, the (Ethiopian) regime," Eritrea said in a statement posted on its website.

"This campaign and continuous lie is a fabrication of the U.S. administration," it added.

Tension in the region is mounting with the transitional government and the Islamic Courts preparing for battle in recent weeks.

Analysts fear the unresolved border war between Ethiopia and Eritrea could spill over into Somalia , where the Islamic courts have been growing in strength since seizing the capital Mogadishu in June.

The Islamists now control much of the south and central Somalia . Somali Prime Minister Ali Mohamed Gedi said late Saturday he hoped Monday's peace talks with the Islamic movement would help avoid an all-out war in the Horn of Africa nation.

Gedi said that the government side will be led by Sharif Hassan Sheikh Adan, speaker of the interim parliament who had previously quit his post as chief negotiator for the government delegation.

"The Somali government wishes the meeting will have a meaningful conclusion. Somalia is in a very critical condition. We are ready to implement any agreements reached. We are ready to play our role in achieving a solution to the Somali problem," Gedi said.

The third round of peace talks between the Somali government and the Islamist movement is considered the best chances of defusing tension between the two rival groups.

The two sides have met twice in the Sudanese capital for talks that have produced little other than a promise to recognize each other and not make any military moves.

Peace talks stalled after government allegations that the Islamists had violated the accord against military expansion by seizing more territory, and Islamist claims of foreign interference in Somalia .

About 34,000 Somali refugees have arrived in Kenya since the beginning of 2006, with a dramatic rise in the number of newcomers in the past two months, while 130,000 others have been living in the Dadaab area of eastern Kenya since 1991.

Somalia has been without a functioning central administration since 1991 and the government, formed in neighboring Kenya in 2004, has been wracked by infighting and its inability to assert control over much of the country.

Source: Xinhua