Brussels, 30/10/2008 (Agence Europe) - High Representative for the Common Foreign and Security Policy Javier Solana has “strongly” condemned the suicide attacks carried out on 29 October in the north of Somalia (in Bosasso and Hargeisa) which killed at least 28 people and wounded dozens more. The attack came only three days after the ceasefire agreement between the federal transition government and the Alliance for the Liberation of Somalia was signed in Djibouti on 26 October (see EUROPE 9772).
In a press release issued on 29 October, Solana addresses his condolences to the families of the victims and expresses his sympathy to the authorities of Puntland and Somaliland. He says too that “only dialogue” will enable Somalia to find a way to return to peace. Finding such a path is, he says “in the interest not only of the Somali people but also of the region and Africa as a whole”. (A.N./transl.rt)