(Adds peace talks postponed, paragraphs 3,8, quotes)

By Peter Graff

LONDON, Nov 1 (Reuters) - War in Somalia is "more likely than not" and the government no longer considers the Islamic militia that control most of the country to be partners for peace, Somalia's foreign minister said on Wednesday.

Ismail Hurre Buba told Reuters the forces of his Western-backed government were preparing to stand and fight at Baidoa, the one city they still control, and were negotiating military aid with neighbouring countries.

Shortly after his interview, peace talks in the Sudanese capital Khartoum were postponed after government and Islamist negotiators failed for a third day to begin face-to-face talks, a blow to hopes of averting war.

"I am not pronouncing the death of the peace process," Hurre said. "What I am saying (is) the ICU (Islamic Courts Union) is not a partner in peace."

Asked if war was now likely he said: "I think it's more likely than not ... That's a miscalculation that maybe the Islamic Courts are making."

Earlier on Wednesday, the Islamists said they wanted the third round of Arab League-sponsored peace talks postponed until an independent fact-finding mission could determine whether Ethiopian troops were in the country propping up the government.

"We request our colleagues to temporarily suspend the talks ... because Ethiopia has declared war and invaded Somalia," Islamist delegation chief Ibrahim Hussein Adow said.

A statement issued in Khartoum by mediators after the talks were postponed called for restraint by both sides and said further consultation was needed.

Hurre dismissed the proposal for a fact-finding mission as "a ploy" and said the Islamists were using the negotiation process to "buy time". "Now it has become evident that this has been throughout the time their strategy," he said.

The Islamists, born out of a strict sharia courts movement, took over Mogadishu in June from U.S.-backed warlords and have captured large parts of southern Somalia.

Islamist fighters are only 10 km (6 miles) from joint Ethiopian-Somali government forces protecting the shaky administration's base in Baidoa.

The government has denied it is receiving military support from Ethiopia. Asked how many Ethiopian troops were in his country Hurre said: "None. At least to my knowledge."

But he also blamed the Islamists for provoking Ethiopia in pursuit of a wider war that could also draw in other neighbours.

"Even if there are Ethiopean troops in the country, who is responsible? It is the Islamic courts who have declared jihad against Ethiopia," he said. He accused the Islamists of backing anti-Ethiopian militants and allowing 2,500 troops from Ethiopia's arch-foe Eritrea into the country.

"These are people who want the area to really explode," he said. "I'm sure that the Somali people will get together to put an end to this kind of madness."

In a sign of the close links between the government and Somalia's large neighbour, Hurre's interview with Reuters was set up by officials at the Ethiopian embassy in London, who said they were providing the Somali minister with logistical support.

Hurre said the government retained the right to seek help from neighbouring countries if it was attacked. He confirmed the government had discussed military aid with neighbours and was confident it would arrive if war broke out.

"It's not a matter of protecting us, it's a matter of assisting us to protect ourselves," he said. "And we are very confident of that."

He said the Islamists may have overestimated their own military strength because of previous victories, but the government had yet to show its own capability by fighting back.

"There hasn't been a single instance in which we have been defeated. In fact we have not opted at any time to get into any military conflict with the Islamic courts," he said. But the government would stand and fight at Baidoa, "if we have to."

AlertNet news is provided by

Delicio.us  |   Digg  |   NewsVine  |   Reddit