Written by The Media Line Staff
Sunday, January 13, 2008
Sunday, January 13, 2008
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Somalia's new government convened for the first time on Saturday in Baidoa, amid continuing violence in the country.The parliament approved the new cabinet last week, in an effort to bring stability to the country.
The new government consists of 18 ministers and five deputies, down from 31 ministers in the last government.
The previous government dissolved after two weeks, following grievances that it failed to adequately represent the different clans.
The new cabinet also includes ministers from outside of parliament.
Its main task will be to bring security to the country, which has been embroiled in a conflict with armed Islamist groups for more than a year.
While the ministers convened, Somali troops and troops from the allied Ethiopian army conducted searches in Baidoa and the capital Mogadishu.
The government, headed by Nour Hassan Hussein, faces violence both in the capital Mogadishu and from political in-fighting.
The Somali army, with backing from Ethiopian troops, has been fighting Islamists for more than a year.
Islamists were defeated in December 2006 after briefly taking over the capital and other parts of the country, but have since regrouped and are gaining strength, Somali officials say.
The country has not had a stable government in 16 years.
Human rights and aid organizations estimate that some 6,500 people were killed in Somalia last year.
An attempt on the life of a journalist in Somalia last Thursday left the radio presenter in critical condition.
Abdikheyr Muhammad Jama was shot in the mouth as he left work in the semi-autonomous Puntland region. Somalia is the second most dangerous country for journalists after Iraq, according to Reporters Without Borders.
Source: Media Line, Jan 13, 2008