Islamist-led insurgent attacks have been increasing in Mogadishu since an Ethiopian offensive at the end of April put an end to heavy clashes that killed hundreds and forced tens of thousands to flee.

Seyoum, who arrived in the shattered Somali capital on Friday, addressed clan elders and Somali officials at the Ethiopian embassy.

“Take me not only as a neighbor but also as a brother. We have hope and you have to hope with us,” Seyoum told the gathering.

“It is only Somali people who can bring back peace and statehood to Somalia. Don’t expect peace to be offered by anybody. If you unite towards peace it is the only way to realize a sustainable peace,” he added, less than three weeks ahead of a planned Somali national reconciliation conference.

Also present was Ali Mahdi, chairman of the committee organising the conference, due June 14, but already postponed several times due to insecurity and problems gathering funding.

Renegade Islamist leaders currently in Eritrea have called on Somalis to boycott the conference and fight Ethiopian troops.

Some Somalis, like lawmaker Mohammed Qanyare Afrah, were on Saturday positive about the conference and Ethiopia’s role in helping Somalia.

“We have to discuss and to start the dialogue. But the roundtable discussions can only come after disarmament. We need trained manpower, trained soldiers. Ethiopia can help us and continue its efforts for that purpose,” he said.

But elders from the capital’s dominant Hawiye clan, from which Islamist-led insurgents are drawn, were less enthusiastic about Ethiopia’s continued presence in Somalia.

“Everybody has to work for peace in Somalia. We thank you for your efforts, but we have to solve our problems among ourselves,” said one elder, declining to be named.

Earlier Saturday, two deputy Mogadishu mayors escaped a roadside bomb attack which killed a teenage boy and injured four others, officials and witnesses said.

The bomb hit one of four vehicles driving in a convoy through northern Mogadishu, said a senior municipal official, who did not want to be named.

Mohamed Haji Daud, a witness, said: “A young boy who was passing by was killed and four government soldiers were wounded by the explosion.”

“All the people in the area disappeared after the bomb exploded to avoid arrest,” added Abdullahi Mohamud, another witness.

Ahmed Mohamed Abdullahi, the boy’s relative, said: “The city is very dangerous for everybody, including children, who are not part of the violence or politics in Somalia.”

Also, four people, including a young girl, were wounded in overnight attacks across the seaside capital, witnesses said.

At the start of the year, Ethiopia-backed Somali troops ousted the Islamic Courts Union, which had called for a holy war against Addis Ababa and rejected the Somali interim government, set up in 2004.

Mogadishu Mayor Mohamed Omar Habeb blamed remnants of the Islamists for the attacks and said that those responsible would be arrested.

“Somalia is heading toward peace and stability. We will hunt criminals who want to terrorize the people of Mogadishu,” he said.

Meanwhile, the Ethiopian Foreign minister warned Somalis at the meeting that they had to stop the attackers.

“You cannot ride two horses at the same time. Those who are firing mortars and setting up bombs are among you. You cannot support peace and war at the same time,” he said.

The Horn of Africa nation plunged into lawlessness with the 1991 ouster of dictator Mohamed Siad Barre and more than a dozen attempts to restore central authority have since failed. (AFP)