Somalia: Twelve More Ministers Leave Interim Government
By Hassan Yare
01 August 2006, Baidoa, Somalia (Reuters) - Twelve more ministers walked away from the Western-backed weak interim government of Somalia Tuesday, raising fears of imminent collapse of the government, said reports from the area.
Minister of Minerals and Water Mohamud Salad Nur and three other assistant ministers announced their resignation less than a week after 18 senior officials also quit, dealing a blow to the fragile interim government.
Eight more ministers and assistant ministers later resigned after Prime Minister Ali Mohamed Gedi called for peace talks with rival Islamists, scheduled for this week, to be postponed.
"We had no option but to resign because we believe if the talks are postponed again it will affect the reconciliation efforts," Minister of Fisheries and Ocean Resources Hassan Abshir Farah told Reuters.
"Gedi's government is unpopular among most members of parliament and its work plans will not be accepted by the national assembly," Water and Mineral Resources Minister Muhamoud Salat Nur told reporters Tuesday.
"There are fears of war already. We swore to protect our people so that's why we thought we can no longer be part of this government."
The cabinet originally comprised 42 ministers, 11 of whom have resigned in the past week. Government spokesman Abdirahman Dinari said the posts would likely be filled within a week.
Diplomats say power-sharing with the Union of Islamic Courts is the best way of averting a slide to war in the Horn of Africa country, deprived of effective central rule since warlords ousted dictator Mohamed Siad Barre in 1991.
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