Kenya on Tuesday called for a ceasefire in Somalia, urging warring parties in the war-ravaged nation to embrace dialogue as a way of restoring peace and stability in the Horn of African nation.

A statement issued after consultative meeting between Kenyan President Mwai Kibaki and his Somali counterpart, Abdullahi Yusuf, the east African nation appealed to the parties involved in the conflict to put aside their differences and embrace dialogue as a way of restoring peace and stability in the war-torn country.

Kibaki, who chairs the seven nation regional bloc, the Inter Governmental Authority on Development (IGAD) which brokered the installation of Somalia's shaky transitional government in 2004, expressed his personal commitment to the peaceful resolution of the Somali conflict, saying his country would continue encouraging dialogue as a path to sustainable peace in the region.

"President Kibaki said that Kenya would not be used as a refuge for those who seek to destabilize other governments in the region, noting that Kenya had already beefed up patrols along the common border with Somalia ," the statement said.

During the meeting, President Yusuf briefed President Kibaki on the recent developments in his country and assured him that the Transitional Federal Government of Somalia has taken full control of the entire country.

He thanked President Kibaki and his government for supporting the people of Somalia throughout the period when his country was undergoing instability.

Yusuf also informed President Kibaki that his country was willing to welcome an African Union and IGAD force to help train the security forces in order to stabilize all corners of Somalia.

In September, the 53-member body endorsed plans to deploy a near 8,000-strong east African peace force to the war-torn Somalia.

But the move was vehemently opposed by the Islamists, who by then were closing in on the key port town of Kismayo as they expanded their territory after gaining control of the capital Mogadishu in June.

During the meeting which took place in Kenya's coastal city of Mombasa, President Kibaki noted that it was in Kenya's national interest to see to it that there was durable peace and security in Somalia.

The meeting by the two presidents came barely hours after another by Kenya's top security chiefs in Mombasa.

Source: Xinhua