MOGADISHU: Somalia's parliament Sunday approved Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed as the country's new prime minister by a large majority. President Sharif Sheikh Ahmed named Abdullahi, a little-known figure and holder of US citizenship, as prime minister on Oct. 14 to replace Omar Abdirashid Sharmarke, who resigned following a dispute with the president. Speaker of the house Sharif Hassan Sheikh Aden said “297 out of 392 have endorsed the prime minister ... who has now got parliament's confidence vote.” The president and the speaker had been at loggerheads over the appointment, with the United Nations' top envoy for Somalia, Augustine Mahiga, flying into Mogadishu last week in a bid to defuse the row. Abdullahi, who was born in Mogadishu in 1962, must now form a government which will in turn need lawmakers' approval. – Agence France
