By Xinhua,
Mogasishu : The Somali transitional government said Friday its forces would not engage in hostilities with the insurgents to retake rebel-held territories.
The government said its decision was in compliance with a ceasefire agreement reached with a major insurgent group in Djibouti, the capital city of the state with the same name in the Horn of Africa.
“Our forces will not be engaged in any more fighting because this is a time of peace and reconciliation between all Somali sides,” Salad Ali Jeelle, deputy defence minister told reporters.
Somali insurgents are in control of much of southern and central Somalia while Somali government forces backed by Ethiopian troops and African Union peacekeepers are protecting capital Mogadishu and the southern town of Baidoa, the seat of the transitional parliament.