Somali rivals may resume talks November 15 - diplomats

NAIROBI, Nov 2 (Reuters) Somalia's government and rival Islamists are considering holding new talks in mid-November after negotiations stalled in Sudan, heightening fears of a Horn of Africa war, diplomats said today.

''I hear they are aiming for November 15 but given what has happened this week, I think it's premature,'' a diplomatic source in Nairobi told Reuters.

A third round of talks between President Abdullahi Yusuf's interim government and the Mogadishu-based Islamist movement had been scheduled to take place in Khartoum this week.

But the delegations failed to meet face-to-face, with the Islamists objecting to Ethiopian troops they say have entered Somalia in substantial numbers.

The Islamists called for an international fact-finding mission to be sent to Somalia to verify the Ethiopian presence.

But even as talk increased of war on both sides, delegations were considering coming back in two weeks, diplomats said.

''I hear they've been adjourned to November 15,'' another diplomat close to the negotiations told Reuters.

War would be disastrous for the already desperately poor and conflict-ravaged Horn of Africa.

Reuters DKA DS1353