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MOGADISHU, Nov 14 Somalia’s opposition Somalia Future Council has decided to boycott talks called by President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud for Saturday at the presidential palace, Villa Somalia, demanding instead that negotiations be facilitated by an international mediation group, multiple sources told Dawan Media.
The council has informed the mediation quartet of the United States, Britain, the European Union and Türkiye that it remains open to negotiations but will not attend talks held at Villa Somalia, the sources said.
Two other opposition groups, the National Unity Coalition led by former Prime Minister Omar Abdirashid Ali Sharmarke and the Peace and Life party led by former President Mohamed Abdullahi Farmaajo, met on Friday evening and agreed in principle to accept the president’s invitation, sources familiar with the meeting said.
The two groups said they would continue working to ensure all relevant political parties take part in the talks.
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A source close to the meeting, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the participants had not been told where the talks would be held. “We have not been informed of the venue for the talks proposed by the president, so we do not yet know where we are supposed to go,” the source said.
The talks come amid a deepening dispute between the government and the opposition over constitutional amendments, the terms of office of state institutions and the format of elections.