Somalia's Transitional National Government (TNG) and five Mogadishu-based factions have signed a joint ceasefire declaration committing them to ending violence in the Somali capital. The breakthrough came December 15th as the Somali peace talks in the Kenyan town of Eldoret entered a crucial second phase, which could lead to a Government of all factions. The parties agreed, "to cease all kinds of hostilities now and in the future". They also committed themselves to "fighting bandits and armed militias who have been killing and abducting innocent people". They agreed to resolve existing political differences "through dialogue and goodwill". Besides, the Somali leaders condemned "in the strongest terms possible all forms of terrorism" and expressed shock and sadness over the terrorist acts in Mombasa, Kenya.

A Somali observer in Eldoret said that the accord was significant "if the signatories are sincere and carry it out... If peace can be achieved in Mogadishu, then peace is possible in Somalia."

A Mogadishu businessman, Muhammad Ahmad, said that people in the city had received news of the declaration but are not celebrating yet. "We have seen too many agreements and none of them produced any results," he said. "I think we will wait until we see the [TNG's] police and the various militias mounting joint patrols to rid the city of bandits and... only then celebrate."

The signatories of the declaration included TNG Prime Minister Hasan Abshir Farah, Transitional National Assembly Speaker Abdullah Derow Isak and prominent Mogadishu-based faction leaders such as Husayn Muhammad Aydid, Muhammad Qanyare Afrah, Muse Sudi Yalahow, Usman Hasan Ali Ato and Umar Muhammad Finish.

On December 16th Kenyan police sealed off a house in Mombasa where they believe suspects made the bomb used in a deadly attack on an Israeli hotel last month. "We visited the house and we believe it is the place where the bomb was made," said William Langat, who is leading the investigation into two attacks on Israeli targets on November 28th. "We found a lot of cloth thrown in the yard that looks like it was used to handle chemicals... The house had already been cleaned, but we have done our job and are still working there." The attack on the hotel in Mombasa killed 10 Kenyans, three Israelis and the three suicide bombers. A missile attack at around the same time failed to hit an Israeli airliner taking off from a nearby airport.

The house searched in Mombasa was rented by two men - a Kenyan, Saleh Ali Saleh Nabhan, and a second, unnamed man. They lived there with their wives from September 1st to November 27th. Both are wanted by police. Saleh owned the green Pajero car that was used to bomb the Israeli-owned Paradise Hotel near the coastal resort of Mombasa. Police said witnesses had seen the Pajero at the one storey house, now sealed off by a police cordon.

Saleh, 23, was last seen on Lamu, an island north of Mombasa, on December 3rd when he told his wife he was heading for Somalia. Langat told local media that Saleh Ali Saleh Nabhan telephoned his wife twice and urged her to join him in the Somali town of Baidoa. Nabhan's wife, Fatuma, confirmed this. Baidoa is situated 250 kilometers northwest of the capital Mogadishu. Police have detained Nabhan's wife, his mother and brother for questioning, but have arrested no one believed directly responsible for the attacks.

Two of the Israelis killed were brothers - Noy and Dvir Anter, aged 12 and 14, from the West Bank town of Ariel. The third was Albert De Havila, 60, of Ra'anana, a retired official who had started a new career as a tour guide.

Minutes before the blast at the hotel, two shoulder-launched missiles were fired at an Arkia passenger plane carrying over 270 people as it departed Mombasa Airport for Tel Aviv. The attack was a failure. Both missiles narrowly missed the plane. Osama bin Laden's Al-Qaeda terror network claimed responsibility for the coordinated attacks. US intelligence officials have suggested the weapons and bomb material may have come into Kenya from Somalia, which has been without an effective central government for more than a decade.

Last week, the Kenyan police admitted that six Pakistanis and three Somalis held for nearly three weeks had nothing to do with the attacks. The police are offering a reward of about $6,000 for information leading to the arrest of Nabhan or either of the two men believed to have fired the missiles at the jet Police have released Nabhan's photo and made public computer-generated drawings of the other two suspects based on descriptions by witnesses. The composite drawings show two olive-skinned men in their mid-30s, one nearly bald and heavy-set, the other bearded with heavy eyebrows