Somalia

President sacks Prime Minister and cabinet

Article published on the 2008-12-14 Latest update 2008-12-15 08:47 TU

Nur Hassan Hussein
(Photo: AFP)

President Abdullahi Yusuf Ahmed has sacked his government cabinet. Prime Minister Nur Hassan Hussein rejected the move, saying the president does not have the authority to fire him.

In his announcement Sunday, President Abdullahi said that Prime Minister Hussein was "unable to perform his duties," saying he was "obliged to save the country".

The announcement was made in Baidoa, a town that correspondent Mohamed Sheikh Nur describes as "one of the only towns that the government controls now," saying that "Islamic militants have taken over most of the country".

Hussein accused the president of attempting to undermine peace negotiations with the Islamist-dominated opposition, the Alliance for the Re-Liberation of Somalia.

Nur said this comes "at a time when Ethiopia, which has been protecting the Somali government, recently announced it will withdraw its troops by the end of this month,” suggesting that "this will leave the government vulnerable to Islamic insurgents".

Hussein, who has been Prime Minister since November last year, claims the president is not "mandated to sack the Prime Minister of the Transitional Federal Government".

He is to speak to parliament Monday and the president Tuesday. The charter governing Somalia's Transitional Federal Government stipulates that a president needs the backing of parliament to remove the Prime Minister.