Sheihk hasan dahir aways, who claimed to be the leader of the alliance for the re-liberation of Somalia , has expressed pessimism on a possible end between the row within the alliance.

He insisted that the alliance would continue its struggle to liberate country from the Ethiopian yoke.

“Our alliance is united but few men left us” he said. “We are going to liberate the country and form an Islamic state” he added.

Aweys and his allies stayed away from the talks, saying they would not take part unless Ethiopian troops backing government forces since late 2006 pulled out of Somalia.

Since their ouster early last year by the joint Somali-Ethiopian force, the Islamists have waged a guerrilla war, which according to international rights groups and aid agencies, have left at least 8,000 civilians dead and displaced hundreds of thousands.

The 1991 ouster of dictator Mohamed Siad Barre paved the way for a breakdown in the state machinery and a rise in factional warfare that has seen most of Somalia beyond the control of any recognized central government ever since.