/ 17 May 2010

Somali president to name new Cabinet soon

The president of war-weary Somalia says he will name a new Cabinet soon in a bid to overcome divisions that have prevented his government from effectively combating an Islamist insurgency.

President Sheik Sharif Sheik Ahmed must nominate new ministers within a month of his speech on Monday.

Analysts say his administration has been crippled by divisions between competing factions. Ahmed also needs to deliver promised positions to a powerful militia that recently signed a power-sharing agreement with the government.

The United Nations-backed government only holds a few blocks of the city capital and comes under daily attack from Islamist insurgents.

Somalia has not had a functioning government in nearly 20 years. — Sapa-AP