(live-PR.com) - NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) - The U.S. ambassador to Kenya said Thursday that a new Somali opposition group has limited support in Somalia and that some members were already trying to enter talks with the government.
Michael Ranneberger, whose mandate includes Somalia, said the Alliance for the Re-Liberation of Somalia failed to draw a broad base of support since it was formed earlier this month in the Eritrean capital, Asmara.
«What was most evident of that was the isolation of that group,» Ranneberger said.
Somalia has been without an effective central government since 1991, when warlords overthrew dictator Mohamed Siad Barre and then turned on each other. A radical Islamic group with alleged links to al-Qaida ruled much of southern Somalia for six months last year before being ousted by Ethiopian troops who support the government.
The leaders of that group, called the Council of Islamic Courts, are now leading the Alliance for the Re-Liberation of Somalia.
The chaotic country in the Horn of Africa has long been a concern for the United States, which fears it could become a breeding ground for al-Qaida. On Thursday, the terror group's deputy leader, Ayman al-Zawahri, touted al-Qaida's activities in various areas, including Iraq, Afghanistan, Somalia and North Africa.
Somalia's government, which was formed in 2004 with the support of the United Nations, held its own conference over the summer to discuss how to combat extremism and enact good governance. Ranneberger said some members of the opposition alliance are now trying to join the government's conference, but he didn't elaborate.
Ranneberger noted that Saudi Arabia «endorsed» the government's National Reconciliation Conference this weekend when King Abdullah oversaw the signing of the administration's reconciliation agreement in Jiddah.
«What the Saudis have done is signal Arab support of the national reconciliation conference,» because Saudi Arabia is the current chair of the Arab League, Ranneberger said.

Last year, a U.N. panel, charged with monitoring the 1992 arms embargo on Somalia, said in a report at least 10 countries including Ethiopia, Eritrea, Egypt, Yemen, Libya, Saudi Arabia and Syria had provided weapons, money and training to armed groups in Somalia. All those countries have denied the allegations.
The involvement of Eritrea and Ethiopia is divisive in Somalia. Eritrea fought a bloody war for independence from Ethiopia that ended in 1993 and another war over a border dispute from 1998-2000. Tensions between the two remain high, and they may see Somalia as a proxy battleground.
The violence and political unrest in Somalia are plunging an already desperate country into ever more precarious conditions. On Thursday, at least six people were killed and more than 17 wounded in fighting between rival clans some 670 kilometers (416 miles) south of the Somali capital, a doctor and clan leader said.