The 2002 Somali Reconciliation Conference, sometimes called the Eldoret conference were a series of meetings held in Eldoret

Eldoret

Eldoret is a town in western Kenya and the administrative centre of Uasin Gishu District of Rift Valley Province. Lying south of the Cherangani Hills, the local elevation varies from about 2100 metres above sea level at the airport to more than 2700 metres in nearby areas...

, Kenya

Kenya

Kenya , officially known as the Republic of Kenya, is a country in East Africa that lies on the equator, with the Indian Ocean to its south-east...

 during November 2002. It was attended by most supporters of the Transitional National Government

Transitional National Government

The Transitional National Government of Somalia was established in April–May 2000 at the Somalia National Peace Conference held in Djibouti....

 (TNG) of Somalia

Somalia

Somalia , officially the Somali Republic and formerly known as the Somali Democratic Republic under Socialist rule, is a country located in the Horn of Africa. Since the outbreak of the Somali Civil War in 1991 there has been no central government control over most of the country's territory...

. The TNG was the predecessor organization of the Transitional Federal Government

Transitional Federal Government

The Transitional Federal Government is the current internationally recognized government of the Republic of Somalia. It was established as one of the Transitional Federal Institutions of government as defined in the Transitional Federal Charter adopted in November 2004 by the Transitional...

 (TFG).

However, at the time, the Rahanweyn Resistance Army

Rahanweyn Resistance Army

The Rahanweyn Resistance Army , also known as the Reewin Resistance Army, is an autonomist militant group operating in the two southwestern regions of Somalia, Bay and Bakool. It was the first Reewin armed faction to emerge during the Somali civil war...

 (RRA) was still hotly contending with other factions, including warlord Adan Madobe-Habsade, who captured Baidoa

Baidoa

Baidoa is a city in south-central Somalia, situated by road northwest of the capital Mogadishu. It is the capital of the Bay region, which is traditionally inhabited by the Digil and Mirifle clans....

. The RRA accused the Juba Valley Alliance

Juba Valley Alliance

The Juba Valley Alliance is a political faction of the Somali Civil War. It was the primary opponent of the Somali Patriotic Movement and the Somali Reconciliation and Restoration Council vying for the control of Kismayo and the Juba River valley, the area known as Jubaland.Following the...

 of assisting the warlord, an accusation denied by the JVA leader Barre Adan Shire Hiiraale

Barre Adan Shire Hiiraale

Barre Adan Shire , also known as Barre Hiiraale, Barre "Hirale" Aden Shire, or Abdikadir Adan Shire, is a former Minister of Defense of the Somali Transitional Federal Government . He was previously the TFG Minister for National Reconstruction and Resettlement...

.

Former President and member of parliament

Member of Parliament

A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...

 Ali Mahdi Muhammad

Ali Mahdi Muhammad

Ali Mahdi Muhammad was president of Somalia from January 1991 to November 1991. He rose to power when Mohamed Farrah Aidid forced then president Mohamed Siad Barre out of office. Muhammad, however, was not able in that time to exert control over the country...

 blamed Ethiopia

Ethiopia

Ethiopia , officially known as the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a country located in the Horn of Africa. It is the second-most populous nation in Africa, with over 82 million inhabitants, and the tenth-largest by area, occupying 1,100,000 km2...

 for interfering in the meetings. He left the conference to return to Mogadishu

Mogadishu

Mogadishu , popularly known as Xamar, is the largest city in Somalia and the nation's capital. Located in the coastal Benadir region on the Indian Ocean, the city has served as an important port for centuries....

, saying it was a waste of time.