| Submit your comments on this article |
| Africa Horn |
| Somali MPs absent parliament |
| 2008-12-20 |
| Nearly half of Somali lawmakers reportedly refused to turn up in the parliament after alleged death threats targeting the president's allies. The no-show was triggered by a Thursday break-in into the parliament's building by unidentified soldiers and gunmen, Aljazeera TV reported on its website. The forced entry had been made to gag opposition to the parliament spokesman Sheikh Adan Mohamed Nur (Modobe)'s verdict on divisive issues, the source added. The country's President Abdullahi Yusuf Ahmed sparked considerable opposition after he 'unconstitutionally' replaced Premier Nur Hassan Hussein with his own appointee Mohamud Mohamed Guled. There is currently a gaping gulf between the parliamentarians who have rallied around the president's choice and those advocating the reinstatement of Nur Hassan Hussain; the most outstanding among them being the spokesman and a former leader of armed opposition Mohamed Nur. On Thursday night the house of Hussein-allied MP Khadija Mohammed Diriye, who was recently appointed as a cabinet minister was raided by gunmen reported to be government soldiers, the Press TV correspondent in Somalia reported. The recent developments have turned the southern town of Baidoa the seat of the parliament into a flashpoint. The dismissed premier has staunchly called for the ouster of President Yusuf. 140 lawmakers joined his camp leaving out only 40 others to bring the decision into effect. Hassan Hussein is currently in Djibouti on reconciliation efforts to meet with Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmed the leader of the more cociliatory faction of the Somali opposition the Alliance for the Re-liberation of Somalia (ARS). The political standoff has been exacerbated by steadfast resistance on the part of opposition camps including the Union of Islamic Courts (UIC) and its militiamen Al-Shabaab. |
| Posted by:Fred |