Somali President Pressed to Resign by Parliamentarians

Somali President, Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmed has been called upon by his MPs to step down for being inefficient. They accused him of neglecting his country and making foreign trips since his election.

During a meeting in Mogadishu, the MPs urged the President to resign so as to create room for the election of a new leader who can serve the country better.

One of the Somali MPs, Dahir Abdikadir Irro said that the President is now in dispute with Puntland, the only state that is supporting his government and Ahlu-Sunnah, a pro-government Islamic group which backs him.

During an interview with BBC the Somali President seemed not to be bothered by the demands made by the MPs and refered to the Ahlu-Sunnah group as any another armed militia fighting in his war-torn country.

The remarks made by the President during the interview agitated the group and they have threatened threatened to take unspecified action against the Somali government
This is the first time the Lawmakers are making such demands on the President. They have even threatened to revoke his position if he fails to resign.

President Sharif was elected in February in Djibouti and since then Mogadishu has experienced intense violence between government forces and Islamist insurgents bent on overthrowing the current UN-backed transitional administration. [CK]