Somali clan leader Mohamed Aidid arrived in Ethiopia aboard a U.S. military plane Thursday for talks with his rivals, dropping his pledge to boycott the peace conference.
Leaders of other Somali factions delayed the meeting for Aidid's arrival. The talks are scheduled to begin Friday."I am confident we Somalis will find a lasting solution to our problems," Aidid said on his arrival.
Aidid boycotted a U.N.-sponsored humanitarian aid meeting on Somalia that ended here Wednesday, saying he wanted the United Nations to release eight of his aides. They are being held in connection with attacks that killed dozens of U.N. troops, including 24 Americans.
Aidid has eschewed contact with the United Nations and has heavily criticized the organization, which only recently dropped a warrant for his arrest in connection with a June 5 attack that killed 24 Pakistani soldiers.
"The world is changing every minute," Aidid replied when asked why he decided to come to Addis Ababa. He said he expected the detained aides to be freed soon.
Aidid's main foe, Ali Mahdi Mohamed, arrived Wednesday on a U.N. plane. Asked if he would shake hands with his archrival, Aidid said, "There is no enmity between Ali Mahdi and myself."
Aidid landed aboard a U.S. Army C-12 plane, which took off from a Mogadishu airfield far from the airport used for U.N. relief flights. He arrived at the airport in an American armored vehicle guarded by American forces and his own personnel.
In Washington, acting State Department spokeswoman Christine Shelly defended the decision to transport Aidid in a U.S. aircraft.
Aidid has been making gradual overtures to the Americans since an international search for him ended with an Oct. 3 firefight that killed 18 Americans and more than 300 Somalis.
The incident spurred President Clinton to announce the withdrawal of U.S. peacekeepers.