Somalia
Somalia: Lawmakers reject resigned Cabinet ministers
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Sep 12, 2008 - 11:42:09 AM

BAIDOA, Somalia Sep 12 (Garowe Online) - Legislators in Somalia's federal parliament rejected a proposal to return 10 Cabinet ministers who resigned in July after a fued erupted between interim President Abdullahi Yusuf and Prime Minister Nur "Adde" Hassan Hussein, Radio Garowe reported Friday.

On Thursday, a meeting was held at parliament hall in Baidoa, which was attended by 190 MPs of the 275-seat legislature.

Sheikh Adan "Madobe" Mohamed, the parliament Speaker, said the MPs would debate about a tenet in the Addis Ababa Agreement that ended the fued between President Yusuf and Prime Minister Nur Adde, which called for the return of the pro-Yusuf Cabinet ministers.

"175 lawmakers rejected the return of the resigned Cabinet ministers, while 15 lawmakers approved," Speaker Madobe announced.

Security was tight in and around parliament hall in Baidoa, which is located 250km northwest of the national capital Mogadishu.

One political observer told Radio Garowe that yesterday's parliament vote is a "double blow" to President Yusuf, who finally agreed to the Prime Minister's decision to fire Mogadishu Mayor Mohamed Dheere. [Full story]

Somalia's interim government, established in 2004, has been plagued by personal feuds among top leaders and crippled by an anti-Ethiopia insurgency led by Islamist rebels.