Somali Prime Minister Disputes Firing
VOA News 18 May 2010
Somalia's prime minister says the president does not have the right to fire him, a day after the president announced he had done just that.
Omar Abdirashid Ali Sharmarke told reporters Tuesday he is still the prime minister and the president is not legally empowered to change that.
The conflicting claims heighten the political turmoil in Somalia that intensified during a session of parliament Sunday.
Parliament speaker Sheikh Aden Mohamed Nur strongly criticized the prime minister, angering lawmakers who later passed a motion to remove the speaker from his post. Nur officially resigned on Monday.
In a statement late Monday, the United Nations voiced support for President Sharif.
The top U.N. envoy to Somalia, Ahmedou Oul-Abdallah, said "the president can count on the backing of the U.N. and international community at this juncture."
Somalia's transitional government has struggled with internal conflicts as it tries to battle Islamist insurgents who control much of the capital and large parts of southern and central Somalia.
The country has not had a stable central government in nearly 20 years.
The government said early this year that it would mount a major offensive against the insurgents, but the operation never materialized.
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