Somalia's interim government and its rival Islamic movement said that they had signed an interim peace agreement to create a unified national army, said reports from the Sudanese capital Khartoum on Monday.

The deal stated that the two sides had agreed on "the formation of a Somali national army and police force by integrating the forces of the Islamic militia, the transitional federal government and other local militia."

Under the pact, the Islamic militia, which has seized control of much of southern Somalia, will not take any more territory and will instead wait for the Oct. 30 talks.

They also agreed to stop issuing propaganda against each other.

"The Islamic courts have met the expectations of our people," said Abdullahi Sheik Ismail, deputy prime minister of the Somali government.

"As the Islamic courts, we will implement this agreement that has been made here in Khartoum and we call upon the government to do the same," said Ibrahim Hassan Addow, the chief of the Islamist negotiators.

The signing ceremony was also attended by Sudan Foreign Minister Lam Akol and Arab League representative Abdul Halima.

The four-point accord, which came after two days of Arab League-mediated peace talks in Khartoum, stipulated that the two sides should honor a previous June 22 truce pact, but did not specify the details of how a unified national army would be created and when the accord would take effect.

Talks between the government and the Islamic militia will be resumed on Oct. 30 to discuss power-sharing and political and security issues.

The Arab League initiative was part of international efforts to restore peace and stability to Somalia and end competition between different factions to fill the power vacuum.

On June 22, the transitional government and the Islamists signed a preliminary accord after the latter routed a US-backed alliance of warlords from Mogadishu, following fierce battles that alarmed many.

At the time, the two sides agreed to meet again on July 15 to thrash out security and governance arrangements, but by then the Islamists had further expanded their territory, drawing charges that they had reneged on the deal.

The United States, other Western countries and the UN have all backed the Arab League initiative to bring the Islamists and the government to peace talks in a bid to prevent conflict.

But the two sides are embroiled in long-standing disputes, one argument being over any deployment of foreign peacekeepers.

(Xinhua News Agency September 5, 2006)