The He also rejected charges that the Supreme Islamic Council of Somalia (SICS) wants to replace the weak Somali transitional government as the main authority in the country but urged it to drop its refusal to meet with his group. "I am appealing to the countries meeting not to ignore the political realities in Somalia," he said on Monday, as the contact group members prepared to meet in Brussels amid growing signs the international community may back peacekeepers. "They should not concentrate on sending peacekeepers who are not needed here," he told AFP from his home region of Galgadud in central Somalia. "Mogadishu ... is peaceful: it was pacified without any intervention from the international community," Aweys said, referring to the ouster of warlords in June after months of bloody fighting by Islamist militia.