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Saturday, February 07, 2009
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| Somali President Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmed arrived Saturday in Mogadishu .Photo:Simon Maina/AFP |
MOGADISHU, (AFP) - Somali President Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmed arrived Saturday in Mogadishu -- his first trip there since being elected last week -- to hold consultations aimed at forming a broad coalition government.
"My trip to Mogadishu is aimed at having consultations with elders, politicians and Islamic resistance groups," he told reporters upon arriving in the Somali capital.
The young cleric and former opposition leader was elected as Somali's new president on January 31 by lawmakers gathered in Djibouti.
Sheikh Sharif had travelled to Addis Ababa this week to take part in the African Union summit and then returned to Djibouti.
The newly-elected leader had said he would form an inclusive government and extend a hand to armed groups still opposed to the UN-sponsored reconciliation effort which saw him leave his exile in Eritrea.
Several politicians are vying to succeed outgoing Prime Minister Nur Hassan Hussein.
According to Somalia's transitional charter, the president, the premier and the parliament speaker have to come from three different major clans.
Sheikh Sharif and Hussein are both from the Hawiye clan.
Source: AFP, Feb 07, 2009