/ 18 September 2006

Explosion rocks Somalia during presidential speech

An explosion rocked the temporary seat of the weak Somali government on Monday near the Parliament building where the country’s interim president was addressing lawmakers, witnesses said.

”There was an explosion near the Parliament building,” government spokesperson Abdrahman Mohamed Nur Dinari said.

”It happened as the president was addressing the Parliament. We do not know what it is, but police have rushed to the scene to investigate,” he said.

Somali President Abdullahi Yusuf Ahmed was expected on Monday to ask Parliament to approve a new Cabinet to shore up the largely powerless government that has been seriously challenged by the rise of an Islamist movement. — Sapa-AFP