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                   Somali Prime Minister Voted Out of Office

   by VOA News

   Somalia's parliament has voted to fire the country's prime minister,
   ending a year of rare stability atop the Somali government.

   Prime Minister Abdi Farah Shirdon lost a no-confidence vote in
   parliament Monday by a tally of 184 to 65.  No immediate replacement
   was named.

   President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud had asked Shirdon to resign three weeks
   ago, on the grounds that he was ineffective.  The prime minister
   rejected the call and asked parliament to intervene.

   The president and prime minister came to power a little more than 12
   months ago as part of a U.N.-backed process to give Somalia a stable
   central government after more than two decades of chaos and conflict.

   Shirdon was a political newcomer at the time, having previously worked
   as a businessman in Kenya.

   The country has enjoyed relative peace and a budding prosperity since
   then, though the militant group al-Shabab continues to carry out
   periodic attacks in the capital, Mogadishu.

   Previous Somali governments often fell apart because of infighting - a
   situation that hampered the government's ability to defeat insurgents
   and exert authority.

   Al-Shabab was pushed out of major cities mainly by African Union
   troops.

   Even now, the Mohamud government has found it hard to settle power
   struggles within Somalia, where many towns are under the effective
   control of various clans, militia groups or al-Shabab.
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   [1]http://www.voanews.com/content/somali-prime-minister-voted-out-of-of
   fice/1801638.html

References

   1. http://www.voanews.com/content/somali-prime-minister-voted-out-of-office/1801638.html