A technical committee, meeting to prepare for Somali reconciliation talks, ended its deliberations on Friday by establishing the terms of reference for the conference. Sources close to the meeting, held in the Kenyan capital Nairobi from 3-5 April, told IRIN the terms of reference included agreement on cessation of hostilities, recognising steps made so far in national reconciliation, discussing the concerns of the neighbouring states, and abiding by the outcome of the conference.

The UN Development Programme (UNDP) for Somalia has helped avert the closure of the Dahabshiil Money Transfer Company (DMTC), the largest remaining such company in Somalia, a UNDP press statement said.

Amoud University is a recently established community based institution, and the librarian will assist in developing its library and other educational resources, and also in strengthening the skills of unqualified staff in library administration/management. You should hold a qualification in library and information science or equivalent knowledge gained through work based experience. Of particular importance is the ability to work creatively within a resource poor environment and a willingness to become involved with the wider aims of the community institution.

General Tommy Franks, head of the US Central Command, continued his tour of Horn of Africa countries with visits to Ethiopia and Djibouti at the weekend. "We have known of links to al-Qaeda [terrorist network] in and through Somalia for a considerable period of time," he said. He added that he could not go into specifics, but the US "will not take off the table the possibility of action against countries of concern".

The shaky transitional government in Somalia -- a possible target of the U.S. war on terrorism -- has called for urgent international help in combatting terrorist activity. In a recent report, the government said the United Nations has two choices: watch the country slide back into anarchy and chaos or lend active support to the government in its struggle against terrorism.

UN Secretary General Kofi Annan has said the security situation in Mogadishu is still too uncertain for a long-term UN security presence in the Somali capital. In a report to the Security Council, Annan stated that Somalia remained one of the most dangerous environments in which the UN operates.

At least 40 people were killed and another 50 wounded in renewed fighting in Bardhere, about 400 km west of Mogadishu, local sources told IRIN on Tuesday.

Ethiopia's ambassador to the UN, Abdul Mejid Hussein, has rejected the possibility of a "greater Somalia", along with other senior political leaders from Ethiopia's Somali National Regional State.

The Transitional National Government (TNG) of Somalia has freed 11 foreign nationals who were arrested in December for suspected links with terrorist groups.

The Transitional National Government (TNG) of Somalia has freed 11 foreign nationals who were arrested in December for suspected links with terrorist groups.

IRIN interviewed Hussein Aideed, leader of the Somali National Alliance, at the Ghion Hotel in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Aideed, a member of the Hawiye clan, is co-chairman of the Somali Reconciliation and Restoration Council (SRRC), a grouping opposed to Somalia's Transitional National Government (TNG). He speaks of his opposition to the TNG, reasons for establishing the SRRC, and his relationship with Ethiopia.

In response to the current political crisis in North Eastern Somalia (Puntland), UNIFEM is supporting WAWA (We Are Women Activists), a network of 23 women NGOs committed to promoting peace and reconciliation and women’s human rights in the Puntland region. WAWA held its first peace march in Galkayo on 27 December 2001, bringing together over 120 women from each of the five cities in Puntland to call upon political leaders to stop violence in the region. Plans are underway to hold similar peace marches in other cities.

Eritrea and Djibouti have both expressed concern over the prospect of US military strikes against Somalia.

The Transitional National Government (TNG) has issued a directive banning the carrying of weapons on the streets of the capital Mogadishu, a senior TNG official told IRIN on Monday.

Worry over possible US attacks on Somalia has prompted an exodus from urban areas to the countryside for safety reasons, a senior official of Somalia's Transitional National Government (TNG) told IRIN on Monday.

The Somali opposition grouping, Somali Reconciliation and Restoration Council (SRRC), on Friday urged the international community to step in and resolve once and for all the civil conflict that has blighted the war-ravaged country since 1991.

The east African nation of Somalia is being mentioned with increasing frequency as a possible next target in the U.S.-led war against international terrorism. Somalia is a failed state--with what passes for the central government controlling little more than a section of the national capital of Mogadishu, a separatist government in the north, and rival warlords and clan leaders controlling most the remainder of the country. Before the U.S. attacks that impoverished country, however, it is important to recognize how Somalia became a possible haven for the followers of Osama bin Laden and what might result if America goes to war.

Read more about the ongoing saga of Somalian internet access, which was largely blocked by the US government last year.

UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan has called for reconciliation and rehabilitation in Somalia, saying these were among the Horn of Africa's key concerns. In this respect, he urged Somali leaders to put aside their differences.

Somalia's fragile peace could unravel under the threat of United States military action, giving the upper hand to warlords opposed to recent efforts to rebuild the war-torn country, a British-based charity have said.