20 Jun 2011 – Daily Monitoring Report
Key Headlines:
- Ex-premier says he resigned to “safeguard interest of Somali people”
- Two lawmakers welcome the resignation of Somali Prime Minister
- Somalia’s starving driven into violent Mogadishu
- Ahlu Sunna dissatisfied with premier resignation
- Rawlings commends Museveni on Somalia
- President welcomes resignation of the Somali PM
- Somali government warns foreign firms not to operating in Somalia and Puntland without permission
Titres Principaux:
- L’ex-premier ministre Somalien affirme qu’il a demissioné afin de ‘garantir l’intérêt du peuple Somalien’
- Deux membres du parlement accueillent avec joie la nouvelle de la démission du premier ministre
- Le peuple Somalien affamé conduit vers la violence à Mogadiscio
- Le président accueille la nouvelle de la démission du premier ministre Somalien
- Le gouvernement Somalien prévient les firmes internationales de ne pas opérer en Somalie et au Puntland sans leur permission
- Ahlu Sunna insatisfait de la démission du premier ministre
- Rawlings félicite Museveni pour son rôle en Somalie
SOMALI MEDIA
Ex-premier says he resigned to “safeguard interest of Somali people”
19 Jun – Source: Radio Mogadishu – 101 words
Somali Prime Minister Hon. Muhammad Abdullahi Muhammad Farmajo yesterday officially resigned from his position. This came about in a news conference he held jointly with the president at the presidential palace. The Prime Minister said there were differences between the institutions of the Somali government on the recent Kampala Accord, which stipulated the resignation of the government. The prime minister said that he resigned to safeguard the interests of the Somali people and to end the rift. He said that they had agreed to change some clauses in the Kampala Accord to enable the government to continue with its work.
Somali prime minister pressured to resign
20 Jun – Source: Shabelle – 412 words
Details about the resignation of Somali Prime Minister Mohammed Abdullahi Mohammed Farmajo emerged as foreign countries are reported to be involved in the sudden move. Mohammed days ago held a press conference in Mogadishu saying that he will not stand down and said the calls of Somalis should be listened and respected.
After that statement, Uganda played a key role in pressuring the Somali premier to abide by the so-called Kampala Accord struck by the Somali president and parliament speaker. Kampala has sent a team of military officers including, Gen. around Nyakairima, the chief of the Uganda Peoples Defense forces to put into practice the proposed resignation. Uganda forces Mohammed to step down because the president and the speaker had agreed that his cabinet including him would be removed within 30 days.
The premier turned a deaf ear initially, arguing that is government is very significant and had made great efforts in bringing peace back to Somalia and good governance. Some sources suggested the Ugandan military officials blackmailed him to accept the so-called Kampala Accord and to soon quit the job.
Ethiopia was among the countries which played a significant role supporting the Kampala deal, extending for one year the president’s and speaker’s mandate. Ethiopia has expressed its support for the Accord signed by the President of the Transitional Government of Somalia, Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmed and the Speaker of the Transitional Federal Parliament, Sharif Hassan Sheikh Adan, on June 9th in Kampala and commended the efforts of Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni and of the UN Secretary-General’s Special Representative in Somalia, Ambassador Augustine Mahiga.
In a statement issued on Tuesday this week, Ethiopia said the ‘Kampala Accord’ provided a basis on which to move forward on the issue of transition in Somalia and create a framework to consolidate recent gains in security in Mogadishu and elsewhere in the country. It called on both parties and other stakeholders to work towards the full implementation of the Accord. The brother of the resigned prime minister, Hassan Abdullahi Mohammed who is currently in Mogadishu told Shabelle Media Network that he had witnessed irresistible pressure put on the prime minister.
He said that the Somali people will never forget the foreign force stirring Somalis politics. However, during his term in office, Mohammed Abdullahi Mohammed Farmajo, the former PM has done a good job in terms of paying Somali military and police forces, fighting corruption and insurgent groups. Mohammed took office in November 2010 after his predecessor quit because of internal disputes.
http://www.shabelle.net/article.php?id=7806
Two lawmakers welcome the resignation of Somali Prime Minister
20 Jun – Source: Mareeg Online – 162 words
Some Somali parliamentarians have welcomed the resignation of the Prime Minister Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed (Farmajo) which was announced on Sunday, while some TFG officials expressed sorrow. Dahir Abdukadir Iro and Ali Mohamud Seko, who are members of the transitional parliament, said that they were happy with the decision that the Somali Prime Minister took, saying that such a step would help in ending the deadlock between TFG officials. Most of the Somali people including the national army expressed great disappointment as they heard the news of Farmajo’s resignation, pointing out they will never see again such a honest and talented prime minster.
http://www.mareeg.com/fidsan.php?sid=20080&tirsan=3
Families flee from drought in Bay
20 Jun – Source: Radio Bar-Kulan – 103 words
Families from villages neighboring Baidoa who are fleeing the deadly drought in the area are reported to be flocking into camps inside Baidoa, capital of Bay region of Somalia. In the last 24 hours, 50 families have reached the camps of Idaale, Wadajir and Hanaano in Baidoa. Ibrahim Adan, one of the drought-hit people who managed to reach Baidoa told Bar-kulan that they have migrated from Ooflow, Beenlow and other areas next to Baidoa. Ibrahim said they are faced with a very bad humanitarian situation, adding that they have no access to shelter, food and medical attention.
President welcomes resignation of the Somali PM
19 Jun – Source: Mareeg Online – 209 words
The President of the transitional government of Somalia Sheik Sharif Sheik Ahmed has greatly welcomed the resignation of the Somali Prime Minister Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed (Farmajo) who announced that he would step down on Sunday. The speaker of the transitional parliament Sharif Hassan Hassan Sheik Aden has returned to Mogadishu on Sunday and held a press conference in the Somali capital saying that the results of the meeting in Kampala would be brought before the lawmakers.
http://www.mareeg.com/fidsan.php?sid=20074&tirsan=3
Parliament speaker: “Kampala Accord will be brought before the parliament”
19 Jun – Source: Shabelle – 110 words
Sharif Hassan Sheikh Adam, the Speaker of Somali parliament on Sunday returned home after trips to several African countries. In a brief statement to the local press at Mogadishu international airport, the speaker said that the Kampala Accord which he had with Somali president Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmed will be brought before the parliament as soon as possible.
A large number of members from the parliament had warmly welcomed the speaker. He told reporters that there are disagreements within the TFI and that it is needed for all wrangles to be resolved. He called for Somali parliamentarians to work together and solve all rifts that could paralyze the cooperation of Somali government institutions.
http://www.shabelle.net/article.php?id=7791
Ahlu Sunna dissatisfied with premier’s resignation
20 Jun – Source: Radio Bar-Kulan – 182 words
The Ahlu Sunna administration has expressed their dissatisfaction with the resignation tendered by the former prime minister of Somalia Mohamed Abdullahi Farmajo. The administration termed the quitting as dangerous for the federal government and that it could derail the hard gained development and advances.
The spokesman of Ahlu sunna Sheikh Abdullahi Sheikh Abdirahman Abuu Yusuf told Bar-kulan that the resignation of Farmajo can bring about impediments to the peace process, the development of the government and its fight against al Shabaab. The spokesman said they will continue with their fight against al Shabaab, expressing his concern about the efforts of Farmaajo’s government which now seem to have been blown with the air. Abu Yussuf said they are ready to take part in any effort meant to save and bring peace to Somalia.
The former prime minister of Somalia Mohamed Abdullahi Farmajo yesterday resigned from the post of premiership during a press conference held in Mogadishu. Demosntrations took place in Mogadishu in the wake of the prime minister’s resignation. Pressure from the international community is said to have pushed the premier out of the political scene of Somalia.
Somali government warns foreign firms not to operating in Somalia and Puntland without permission
19 Jun – Source: Mareeg Online – 306 words
The Transitional Federal Government of Somalia on Sunday warned foreign ships against operating sin regions of Somalia, the semi-autonomous state of Puntland and the breakaway republic of Somaliland in particular.
Abdirazak Sheikh Muhyidin, the Minister of Energy, Water and Minerals of Somalia, said at a news conference in Mogadishu that foreign companies must get permission from the transitional government before launching exploration missions in Somaliland and Puntland. He exclusively specified the African Oil Corp. which has a deal with Puntland administration. Africa Oil Corp and Denovo Capital Corp have entered into a letter of intent dated May 11, 2011 for the creation of a new Puntland-focused oil exploration company, to be named Puntland Petroleum Corp.
Puntland Petroleum will be created as a result of the transfer of Africa Oil’s interest in its oil and gas properties in Puntland Somalia to Denovo. Denovo is a capital pool company and intends for the Transaction to constitute the ‘Qualifying Transaction’ of Denovo, as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange.
http://www.mareeg.com/fidsan.php?sid=20073&tirsan=3
Al Shabaab seek financial aid from Afmadow businessmen
20 Jun – Source: Radio Bar-Kulan – 155 words
The militias al Shabaab in Afmadow of lower Jubba region have distributed circulars asking businessmen in the area to pay 450 dollars which they said will be used to buy weapons to defend the Jubba regions. The militias said anyone who doesnt pay the money should bring a gun. The current senior leader of Afmadow, Abu Said said the businessmen should pay the amount of money imposed. Some businessmen are reported to have complied with the instructions and have paid the money while others could not afford to give either money or a gun.
This new wave of imposition of money have affected the businessmen. Some businessmen have started to relocate their business to Dhoobley and Diif where the government is in charge. The militias al Shabaab are faced with financial problems and some reports say senior leaders like Haasab Yakub and Abubakar Ali Adan have turned to the clans in the area to collect money and weapons for them.
Ahlu Sunna arrest al Shabaab-related individuals
19 Jun – Source: Shabelle – 164 words
Somalia’s moderate Islamist group of Ahlu Sunna Waljama said they had apprehended al Shabaab-related individuals in parts of Gedo region in southern Somalia. In an interview with Shabelle Radio, the spokesman of Ahlu Sunna Waljama in Gedo region, Sheikh Mohammed Hussein said that at least five persons are accused of having links with what he called anti-peace elements.
Hussein indicated that all captured were taken to a jail in the border town of Beled Hawo which Somali forces along with Ahlu Sunna fighters tightly control. The arrests of al Shabaab-linked persons came after fighters loyal the Islamist movement attacked key military bases manned by Somali forces and Ahlu Sunna fighters. At least 4 people were reportedly killed and several others injured in that surprise attack, according to sources in the region.
http://www.shabelle.net/article.php?id=7789
New offensive in Gedo claims four as TFG and al Shabaab battle out
19 Jun – Source: Hiiraan Online – 355 words
At least four people were killed and scores of others injured on Saturday night as new fighting erupted in the Southern Gedo region of Somalia where TFG forces are battling against al Shabaab fighters. The offensive that began after a week of military build up by both sides took place at Beled Hawo, a strategic border town where both the TFG and insurgency groups have been making military forays over the past few months. The victims are reportedly only combatants and no civilian casualties have been reported as of Sunday morning.
TFG forces are backed by moderate-Islamists group Ahlu Sunna Waljamaa (ASWJ) as al Shabaab fighters are consolidating their military powers in their former strongholds. The weekend of action and fierce fighting started after al Shabaab reportedly bombarded the border town, which is controlled by TFG and ASWJ forces.
http://www.hiiraan.com/news2/2011/Jun/weekend_of_new_offensive_in_gedo_claims_four_as_t fg_and_al_shabaab_battle_out.aspx
Blast targeted at Somaliland police station kills several people
19 Jun – Source: Bariga Afrika – 117 words
An unidentified assailant on Saturday night attacked Somaliland police station in Las Anod in the disputed region of Sol region in northern Somalia with hand grenades. At least two policemen were so far confirmed injured in grenade attack that targeted at the police station.
Witnesses said the assailants escaped from the scene as soon as the attack took place. Reports suggested early Sunday morning that one Somaliland policemen died hours later from his injuries while he was in a hospital in Laso Anod town. An undisclosed number of suspects had been arrested during the crackdown for the last few months; security in parts of northern Somalia had been precarious as a number of Somaliland officials have been assassinated in Las Anod town.
http://www.barigaafrika.com/en/read.php?id=4386#axzz1PjYiQ2Lz
Al Shabaab continues military movement in Hiiraan, people have fears of fighting
20 Jun – Source: Mareeg Online – 138 words
Al Shabaab troops continue military movements in several areas close to Beledweyn, the centre of Hiran region in central Somalia where they fought with Ahlu Sunna in over the past weeks, witnesses said on Monday.
Locals of Beledweyn town said that the people in the town had fears of fighting between the rivals as the business activities are affected by the tense situation in the region. Spokesman for Ahlu Sunna clerics said recently that they have plans to chase al Shabaab militias out of central Somalia. He added that al Shabaab have started sentencing the people in their jails by fear to be beaten.
http://www.mareeg.com/fidsan.php?sid=20079&tirsan=3
REGIONAL MEDIA
Aronda meets Somali president as PM quits
20 Jun – Source: Daily Monitor – 454 words
The Chief of Defence Forces, Gen. Aronda Nyakairima, yesterday introduced the incoming Amisom commander, Maj. Gen. Fred Mugisha to Ugandan commanders in Somalia as the wartorn country’s Prime Minister – Mohamed Abdullahi Farmajo, announced his resignation following intense talks in Mogadishu.
Gen. Aronda told journalists in Mogadishu that he had also met president Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmed over the Kampala Accord, which has caused animosity among Somalis over its requirement that Mr Farmajo resigns.
“I’m here for the handover but I also interacted with the president and the stakeholders of the Kampala Accord are waiting for its implementation,” he said. Gen. Aronda denied he was in Mogadishu to re-negotiate the agreement after supporters of the Prime Minister demonstrated in different parts of the world demanding he stays on as prime minister. “I understand my interaction with the President has sparked off rumours that we are renegotiating the Accord. No, this is my routine and I just met the President to discuss other issues. The Kampala Accord still stays and the parties are ready to implement it,” he said.
http://www.monitor.co.ug/News/National/-/688334/1185426/-/c09be7z/-/
Food shortage looms over Somalia
18 June – Source: al Jazeera – 87 words
As a drought worsens in Somalia, aid organizations are warning that the tense security situation in the country is hindering efforts to alleviate the suffering.
Anti-government al Shabaab fighters have reportedly been trying to bolster support by offering help to those in need as an alternative to Western aid, which they claim is a propaganda tool. While lack of food for the next few months is expected to be a major problem, after two decades of warm Somalis are no strangers to adversity. Jamal Osman reports from Wanlaweyn in eastern Somalia (see video link below).
http://english.aljazeera.net/video/africa/2011/06/2011618174513285510.html
Obama urged to support democratic change in Somalia
19 Jun – Source: The East African – 470 words
The Obama administration is being pressed to support Somali’s embattled Prime Minister in a political showdown that holds the key to ending the country’s two decades of war. Prime Minister Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed has refused to resign, ignoring the terms of an agreement recently reached between Somalia’s President and Speaker of Parliament.
Signed last week, the “Kampala Accord” brokered by President Yoweri Museveni resolved a showdown on how to manage elections slated for August by deferring them to next year. It also required Prime Minister Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed to step down and a new premier to be appointed by mid-July.
The Kampala Accord’s provision requiring the prime minister’s resignations was inserted, some analysts say, because the president and parliament speaker resent Mr Mohamed’s political popularity. On his part, Mr Mohamed, in power for seven months, says the Kampala Accord cannot be imposed by the president and must instead be ratified by parliament. “I will respect the wish of the Somali people who want me to stay in office, rather than implementation of the Kampala Accord,” Mr Mohamed told a press conference in Mogadishu last week.
The Obama administration had earlier this year voiced frustration with the TFG’s seeming inability to capitalise politically on the military advances made by Amisom forces. US diplomats signalled that the White House and Congress were losing patience with a set of squabbling and corrupt politicians in Mogadishu who owe their power mainly to US underwriting of the TFG. Now Mr Obama is being urged by US lobbyists to support Mr Mohamed’s call for parliamentary review of the Kampala Accord.
“We hope that the US government will come to the side of democracy and parliamentary inclusion… with respect to the future of the TFG,” says John Zagame, vice president of Park Strategies, the US lobbying firm that is being paid $20,000 a month to represent Somalia in Washington.
“We know that President Obama supports the wave of democratic reform sweeping the Islamic world, and we trust that this support will extend to the Republic of Somalia,” Mr. Zagame adds. The Obama administration has not yet taken a public stand on the dispute between Somalia’s president and prime minister.
The prime minister appears to be basing his claim on more than rhetoric, analysts said. Thousands of Somalis quickly took to the streets in support of his continued tenure. And some analysts suggest it is highly significant that the demonstrators in Mogadishu, mainly from the Hawiye clan, were rallying on behalf of a politician from the rival Darod clan. Somalia’s 20-year conflict has been driven in part by animosities among the country’s leading clans. Many members of parliament and Somalia’s army are also transcending their clan differences by speaking out in support of Mr. Mohamed.
He has won broad backing within Somalia and among international monitors for implementing promising reforms, including regularized payments of soldiers and government workers. Flashed.
Al Shabaab grows East Africa wings as security chiefs warn of new threat
19 June – Source: The East African – 1800 words
The killing last week of Fazul Abdullah, the terror mastermind of the August 1998 twin bombings of the US embassies in Nairobi and Dar es Salaam, removed one of the biggest threats to East African security. However, according to a senior Kenyan security official, Fazul’s demise may have come too late. This, the official said, is because Fazul, who was thought to be the key Al Qaeda leader in the region, East Africa region, had already worked with his Al Shabaab allies to transform the Somali militant group into a “pan-East African entity.”
Fazul, who held a Kenyan passport, was wanted not just for the 1998 embassy bombings that killed least 250 people, but was also named as the planner of the 2002 bombing of the Kikambala Hotel in Mombasa in November 2002 that killed 15 people, and an attempt at almost the same time to shoot down a passenger jet carrying Israeli tourists in the same area. He eluded capture despite a $5 million bounty on his head.
Fazul was killed by Somali government forces on June 8 at a roadblock near Mogadishu, along with a senior leader of Al Shabaab. The Shabaab functions largely as an Al Qaeda satellite. The radical group first gave notice of how far its East African tentacles had reached, and how deadly it was, in July last year, when it set off two bombs at sports clubs in Kampala where football fans were watching the World Cup finals. Nearly 70 people were killed in the attacks. The Shabaab said the attacks were to punish Uganda for having troops in the African Union’s peacekeeping mission in Somalia (Amisom). The only other country with troops in Amisom is Burundi, but suspected Shabaab suicide bombers were intercepted at the Rwanda-Burundi border at the same time, and thus Bujumbura escaped the Kampala nightmare.
Though there have been disputes about how many of the people subsequently arrested in Uganda and Kenya were actually conspirators in the July Kampala attacks, there has been evidence that links some of them to the plot. The arrests however, surprised everybody in the region, where a stereotype of what a terrorist was that he was likely to be Somali, or from the Coastal region of Kenya, and most definitely Muslim.
However, the majority of the people arrested shortly after the bombings in Kampala were not Somali. In all, the public figure given by Uganda authorities for the number of suspects arrested was 32. Of these, 14 were Ugandans, 10 Kenyans, 6 Somali, one Rwandan, and one Pakistani. In November 2010, 18 of the suspects were acquitted, but after they were freed, the Uganda police issued an arrest warrant for three new suspects — Muhammad Ali, Jaberi Mahmood Ali and Nyamadondo Hijal Sulaiman, a Tanzanian national. The majority of the Kenyan suspects were not Coastals — they were from the Central, Western, and Nyanza Provinces of the country. And some were only recent Muslim converts, meaning they had probably been recruited into Al Shabaab when they were Christians, or traditional religious adherents.
Fazul and the Shabaab had shown a sharp understanding of the how East African prejudices work, and figured that the stereotype about what a terrorist in the region would look or behave like; meant security forces were not keeping an eye out for non-Somali and non-Coastal people. New face of terror.
The Doubting Thomases changed their position when in December last year bombs went off at the Nairobi terminus of the Kampala Coach Bus service. At least three people were killed by the explosion next to the bus. Two suspects were arrested: Aboud Rogo Mohamed, a preacher in Mombasa, suspected of having links with the Tanzanian man who died after his luggage exploded at the Kampala Coach terminus. In June 2005 Mohamed, together with three others, was acquitted of the Kikambala 2002 bombing.
The second person arrested was Abubakar Sharif Ahmed, a Muslim elder from Mombasa. He was also charged with being a member of Al Shabaab The bombs were thought to be destined for Uganda, and had originated in Tanzania.
Rawlings commends Museveni on Somalia
20 Jun – Source: Daily Monitor – 221 words
The Former President of Ghana, Mr Jerry Rawlings, has commended President Museveni for his efforts in trying to bring peace in the war-torn Somalia. Mr Rawlings, while meeting the President at his country home in Kisozi, Mpigi District, on Saturday said instability in Somalia could suck the region and destabilise the continent if not stopped. “We owe you gratitude for what Ugandan troops are doing in Somalia. It is important that the leaders there know the urgency of getting their act together,” Mr Rawlings, also the African Union Special envoy to Somalia, said.
The two leaders discussed peace, security and development in Somalia and Africa. Accompanied by Gen. Arnold Quainoo, former Army Commander in Liberia, Ambassador Diarra, the AU director for AMISOM, and Mensah Herbert his special advisor, Rawlings proposed to enlist efforts of former heads of state in the region and the continent to broker peace in Somalia.
Ugandan troops form the bulk of the Africa Union 9,000 strong peace-keeping force helping Somalia’s government stem off insurgent groups, especially the al-Shabaab. President Museveni reiterated his commitment to ensuring peace and security in Somalia and the region. He pledged support to Mr Rawlings as Somalia negotiator and said the chief of the Uganda Peoples Defence forces Gen. Aronda Nyakairima would provide him with a detailed report of the situation in Somalia.
http://www.monitor.co.ug/News/National/-/688334/1185440/-/c09bclz/-/
Somalia jails foreigners over ‘pirate ransom’
17 June – Source: al Jazeera – 178 words
Somalia has jailed six foreigners for bringing millions of dollars into the country allegedly intended for pirate ransom. The men from Britain, the US and Kenya were arrested in the capital, Mogadishu, last month after they landed at the airport. They were given jail sentences of 10 to 15 years and fines of up to $15,000.
While the Somali government opposes the payment of ransoms, the practice has become common. The UN says more than $110m was paid in ransom to Somali pirates last year. Just last week, pirates freed a German-owned cargo ship after they received $5.7m. “The German cargo ship has now sailed away. We have taken $5.7m in ransom,” pirate Ibrahim told the Reuters news agency by phone from coastal Ras Guna.
At least 24 ships and their crew are believed to be being held for ransom at various points along the Somali coast. Somali pirates have recently increased their attacks in the Indian Ocean and Gulf of Aden, hijacking numerous commercial vessels. According to the UN International Maritime Organization, the attacks have grown in sophistication and range.
http://english.aljazeera.net/video/africa/2011/06/2011619115512732852.html
INTERNATIONAL MEDIA
Somalia’s starving driven into violent Mogadishu
18 Jun – Source: BBC News – 893 words
Despite reports that the humanitarian crisis in Somalia is easing after 20 years of war, it remains the ultimate failed state – a land of banditry and piracy, where crop failures and a shortage of food force people into the violent city of Mogadishu.
The mayor of Mogadishu insists his city is not the most dangerous place in the world. In fact, Mohamed Nur reckons it is not as bad as Kabul or even Baghdad. “Of course it’s not as safe as we’d like it to be,” he tells me. “But we are making progress.” Calling it “safe” might be a stretch.
The mayor has a street lighting programme. I know because I see the lights flicker on the only three blocks he has done, as we drive past in an armored troop carrier. His council is also collecting rubbish and opening new markets. A force of radical Islamists called al Shabaab is fighting to overthrow what passes for the government.
Al Shabaab has close ties to al-Qaeda. It has a ready supply of arms and ammunition. The lack of any functioning state has allowed piracy to flourish and the politicians – who call themselves “the government” – are fighting to hold on to their half of Mogadishu. They simply could not survive without 8,000 African Union troops holding the rebels back. MI5 believes it is only a matter of time before al Shabaab takes its war to the West.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/programmes/from_our_own_correspondent/9515544.stm
Somali prime minister resigns, reversing pledge to stay
19 Jun – Source: VOA – 315 words
Somalia’s prime minister says he is resigning, reversing a pledge he made last week to stay in office after an outpouring of support by Somalis opposed to his departure. Prime Minister Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed told reporters Sunday his decision to leave office was made to avert political collapse in his homeland. He said his departure is “in the interests of the Somali people.” Mr. Mohamed said he will remain in Mogadishu to support a new government.
President Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmed immediately appointed a caretaker prime minister, who is set to serve until a permanent replacement is named within 30 days. A United Nations-backed deal earlier this month called for Mr. Mohamed to resign within a month to clear the way for the formation of a new government.
The so-called Kampala Accord, mediated by Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni, was meant to break the political deadlock between the president — a former Islamist rebel leader — and Speaker of Parliament Sharif Hassan Sheikh Aden, who covets the top job. The deal was aimed at establishing a roadmap for national elections and a new constitution. The two Somali rivals agreed June 9 to postpone their nation’s presidential elections for one year and hold the vote by August 2012. They both are expected to seek the presidency when the polls take place.
The departing Prime Minister Mohamed has held office for a little more than seven months, but has received local and international praise during that time for his straightforward approach to governance and his desire to rise above the country’s clan-based politics. Somalia has not had a functioning central government in 20 years, since warlords overthrew dictator Mohamed Siad Barre. The insurgent group al-Shabab has waged war against the current administration since 2007, and controls much of southern Somalia. However, the government in recent months has regained control of parts of Mogadishu with the help of U.N. peacekeepers from Uganda and Burundi.