The prime minister of the Transitional National Government (TNG) of Somalia, Hasan Abshir Farah, has admitted there are "minor differences" between himself and the TNG president, but stressed this did not amount to a split within the interim administration.

The United Nations has said it is concerned over the plight of internally displaced persons (IDPs) throughout Somalia. In a open letter last week to Somali leaders attending the peace talks in Kenya, Maxwell Gaylard, the UN Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator for Somalia, expressed "increasing concern about the often appalling conditions in which internally displaced persons in Somalia live".

The London-based rights group Amnesty International (AI) has called for human rights to be at the forefront of discussions at the Somali peace conference now being held in Kenya. In a statement issued this week, AI said a new interim government was likely to emerge from the talks within few months if obstacles to an agreement could be overcome. For that reason, "strong international support for human rights reconstruction is now needed more than ever".

Eritrea, Somalia and Sudan are among the world's most repressive regimes, according to the US-based independent advocacy group, Freedom House. In a report to the UN Human Rights Commission session underway in Geneva, the group has listed 16 countries and three territories it considers as the worst offenders in terms of civil liberties and human rights - among them China, Libya, North Korea and Saudi Arabia.