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| Somalia's president 'sacks PM' | |
| (about 3 hours later) | |
| The Somali President, Abdullahi Yusuf Ahmed, has sacked PM Nur Hassan Hussein and the interim government. | The Somali President, Abdullahi Yusuf Ahmed, has sacked PM Nur Hassan Hussein and the interim government. |
| At a news conference in Baidoa, the president said Mr Hussein, who was sworn into office in November 2007, had failed to bring security to Somalia. | At a news conference in Baidoa, the president said Mr Hussein, who was sworn into office in November 2007, had failed to bring security to Somalia. |
| The move follows tension between the two in recent months over attempts to deal with the Islamist-led opposition. | The move follows tension between the two in recent months over attempts to deal with the Islamist-led opposition. |
| However Mr Hussein told the BBC the president alone did not have the power to remove him from office. | |
| Somalia has not had a functioning national government since President Mohamed Siad Barre was overthrown in 1991. | Somalia has not had a functioning national government since President Mohamed Siad Barre was overthrown in 1991. |
| The government of Nur Hassan Hussein was unable to perform its duties and I am obliged to save the country Somali President Abdullahi Yusuf Ahmed | |
| The current transitional government, faced with an insurgency, is dependent on international aid and Ethiopian military support to function. | The current transitional government, faced with an insurgency, is dependent on international aid and Ethiopian military support to function. |
| Speaking in Baidoa, the seat of the interim parliament, President Yusuf said: "As of now, I have sacked the prime minister and his current government and I will nominate a new prime minister within days." | |
| "The government of Nur Hassan Hussein was unable to perform its duties and I am obliged to save the country," he said. | |
| The president said he was confident that parliament would approve his decision. | |
| Strains | |
| Mr Hussein responded by saying the president had no power to discharge him and his cabinet. | |
| "When it comes to the dismissal of the prime minister, he has no power," he told the BBC Somali service. | |
| "Any step that he wants to take with the prime minister, he should in fact inform and ask the parliament to take that action." | |
| Relations between the president and his premier have been strained in recent months, particularly over reconciliation efforts with the Islamist-led opposition. | |
| The rift between the two leaders has spread to parliament, where supporters of President Yusuf have previously threatened to pass a vote of no confidence in the prime minister. | |
| The president said the dismissal would not harm a UN-sponsored peace process, which aims to bring the country's more moderate Islamists back into the fold. | |
| Mr Hussein was appointed prime minister in November to replace Ali Mohamed Ghedi, who had refused to negotiate with armed Islamists and other opposition groups. | |
| Mr Hussein was seen as a neutral figure who would make competent prime minister. |