18 MPs quit Somali cabinet

2006-07-27 20:02

Mogadishu - Eighteen members of Somalia's transitional cabinet resigned on Thursday in protest at Prime Minister Ali Mohamed Gedi's decision to deploy Ethiopian troops to protect his powerless government, said officials.

The resignations came after a vote of no-confidence in Gedi's government was tabled in the 275-member national assembly to protest against the presence of Ethiopian troops and the prime minister's failure to exert authority across the nation.

Abdirahman Aden Ibrahim, minister of state for parliamentary and government relations, said: "Eighteen members of the cabinet resigned from the government of Gedi because of their dissatisfaction with the way he was running the government."

"Gedi was not leading the Somali people in a manner that could help us develop this nation."

'We failed the nation'

"The government was just useless and unable to fulfil its mandate.

"We failed the nation and there is no reason to continue being ministers," said Ibrahim.

In a brief statement, they said Gedi had violated the Somali charter - a form of constitution - when he named 10 more ministers in addition to those agreed with parliament.

Somalia's transitional government sits in a warehouse in a provincial outpost of Baidoa, about 250km northwest of Mogadishu.

Ibrahim said: "The prime minister has violated the transitional national charter. (He) sacked his deputy and unlawfully named another one.

"The parliament agreed that the council of ministers should be 92, but he added 10 of his own choice without the consent of the Somali parliament."

Warlord Osman Hassan Ali Atto, who was minister for public works and housing, said he quit mainly because of the presence of Ethiopian troops.

Many ways to resolve Somali problem

"The prime minister is eager to see Mogadishu attacked by forces supported by the Ethiopian government.

"Therefore, I don't want to be a member of that cabinet.

"There were many ways to resolve the Somali problem in a peaceful manner. I am against any sort of military intervention to solve the crisis in Somalia," said Atto.

The deployment split the Horn of Africa nation, with the United Nations, the United States and western countries warning that any interference by Somalia's neighbours might spoil efforts to achieve lasting peace in the country.

The resignations come after powerful Islamic militia seized control of much of southern Somalia, including Mogadishu, after ousting a group of US-backed warlords in four months of deadly clashes that claimed about 360 lives, mostly civilians.

Call for speedy withdrawal

On Thursday, Eritrea called for the speedy withdrawal of Ethiopian troops from Somalia, warning that their continued stay risked provoking a regional conflict.

Gedi's government, formed in Kenya in late 2004 after more than two years of peace talks, was seen as the best chance for Somalia to win a functional administration since the ousting of dictator Mohamed Siad Barre in 1991.

Since the, more than 14 internationally-backed initiatives have failed to yield a government.

- AFP