SOMALIA: Puntland peace talks underway
NAIROBI, 8 MAY 2003 (IRIN) - Talks are underway to end conflict in the self-declared autonomous region of Puntland, northeastern Somalia, Puntland's acting information minister told IRIN on Thursday.

Abdishakur Mire Adan said the talks - being held in the commercial capital Bosaso - between his administration and "the armed opposition" led by General Ade Muse Hirsi were "going very well".

Ade Muse, an ally of the rival claimant to the Puntland presidency, Jama Ali Jama, arrived in Bosaso on Monday. This followed a three-month mediation effort by Boqor Usman Aw Mahmud and Sultan Sa'id Sultan Abdisalam, both elders from the disputed region of Sanaag, said Abdishakur. MORE