Kenya urges Ethiopia to cease strike on Somali Islamic courts

Kenya has asked Ethiopia to stop strikes against the Somali Islamic courts, Kenya media reported on Wednesday.

According to local newspaper Daily Nation, Kenyan Foreign Affairs Assistant Minister Moses Wetang'ula said that Ethiopia, as a member of the Inter-Government Authority on Development (IGAD), should not make unilateral decisions.

He said the Kenyan government had appealed to Ethiopia to cease the strikes so as to give dialogues a chance.

"We have urged Ethiopia as an IGAD member to stop making unilateral decisions on Somalia and only engage through organs of IGAD," Wetang'ula was quoted as saying.

"We do not believe problems of Somalia will be solved through military means. We believe this issue can be solved through dialogues," he said.

He said Kenyan Foreign Minister Raphael Tuju was preparing an emergency IGAD council of ministers meeting to discuss developments in Somalia. He also said they had talked to the leaders of the Islamic courts and Transitional Federal Government, who had agreed to meet.

Wetang'ula said the influx of Somali refugees into Kenya was likely to go up because of the deteriorating situation in Somalia. He said the Kenyan military, police and immigration officers on the border were on high alert.

Source: Xinhua