A peace deal of sorts has been struck as some of the old grudges are buried
Things had to change with the death of General Mohamed Farah Hassan 'Aydeed' on 1 August. The three main faction leaders – all Hawiye – may have begun to realise that none of them can rule alone. On 9 October in Nairobi, Ali Mahdi Mohamed (who belongs to the Harti Abgal sub-clan of the Abgal clan of the Hawiye clan family), Osman Ali Ato (Rer Hilowle/ Saad/Habr Gidir/Hawiye) and Hussein Mohamed Farah Aydeed (Rer Jalaf/Saad/Habr Gidir/Hawiye on his father's side), began to talk. By 15 October, they had agreed to a cessation of hostilities, a ceasefire, the removal of roadblocks and the facilitation of humanitarian aid. Osman Ato's foreign affairs spokesman, Mohamed Awale, told the BBC that the leaders had smiled and joked together and if they hadn't signed any agreement, it was because so many had been signed in the past and been broken. This one would last, it was a question of 'honour'. The leaders would continue talking, he said.
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