| |
|
 |
Somali PM reshuffles cabinet
after resignations |
 |
| |
 MOGADISHU(August
5, 2008)
-
Somali Prime Minister Nur Hasan Husein announced Sunday he had appointed
five new ministers, after fresh political turmoil prompted two thirds
of the cabinet to resign.
The premier told reporters that two outgoing ministers had already
been replaced and three previously unattributed ministries had also
been filled.
On Saturday, 10 out of the cabinet's 15 ministers signaled their intention
to resign over allegations that the prime minister misused state resources.
"The office of the prime minister received six out of 10 official
resignations from the cabinet members that announced they were leaving
their jobs and we sent messages urging the others to make their intentions
clear and bring their letters," Nur Hasan Husein said during
a Mogadishu press conference.
"The ministers we named include three positions that had remained
vacant and the other two are replacing freshly-resigned ministers.
We are planning to fill the other positions following consultations,"
he said.
The mass resignations rattled Somalia's fragile transitional government,
less than a year after Nur Hasan Husein took over.
Officials said they reflected a deepening rift between the premier
and President Abdullahi Yusuf.
The fresh crisis in war-torn Somalia comes amid efforts by international
and Somali brokers to press on with a peace process aimed at ending
the civil fighting that has killed thousands of people in recent months.
The United Nations sponsored a new peace initiative which led to the
signing on June 9 in Djibouti of a truce agreement between the government
and the main Islamist-dominated opposition movement.
But the deal led to a split in the opposition, with hardliners insisting
Ethiopian troops should leave before negotiations start.
Nur Hasan Husein, whose own job is on the line amid growing speculation
he could face a vote of no confidence in parliament, vowed Sunday
that he would not allow the political upheaval to undermine the Djibouti
deal.
"I also need to make clear that the resignation of those ministers
will not affect the Djibouti peace process and we will quickly replace
them all," he said.
|
| |
|
