Tuesday May 24, 2022
Somalia's prime minister suspended the foreign minister on
Tuesday, citing the authorisation of a ship exporting charcoal to Oman in
violation of international sanctions.
The U.N. Security Council banned such shipments a decade ago
to cut funding for the Islamist militant group al Shabaab, an al Qaeda
franchise fighting Somalia's central government.
Prime Minister Mohamed Hussein Roble's office said that as
well as suspending Foreign Minister Abdisaid Muse Ali, he had ordered an audit
and judicial investigation into the ministry's authorisation of the shipment.
Ali could not be reached and foreign ministry spokespeople
did not respond to requests for comment.
The status of the shipment was unclear.
(Reporting by Abdi Sheikh; Writing by Hereward Holland;
Editing by Andrew Cawthorne)