A key Somali clan has said it will boycott a national reconciliation conference scheduled to begin this week in the capital, Mogadishu.
Elders from the Hawiye clan, which dominates the capital, say leaders of Somalia's interim transitional government have not engaged the clan in meaningful talks ahead of the conference.
The clan says the government has also ignored a list of demands submitted to the reconciliation committee last month.
Experts say participation of the Hawiye clan is crucial to the success of the conference.
The meeting is due to begin Thursday, despite chronic violence and attacks on government officials in Mogadishu.
However, conference committee chairman Ali Mahdi Mohamed has said a lack of funding may cause the conference to be postponed a third time.
A lack of security in the capital forced postponements in April and May.
Somalia has endured 16 years of lawlessness and conflict since warlords overthrew dictator Mohamed Siad Barre in 1991.
