Abdillahi
Deroow Issack, the newly-elected speaker of Somalia's Transitional
National Assembly, has been officially sworn in and designated
acting president, pending the election of a new president
by legislators at the Djibouti peace talks.
Conference
sources in Arta, Djibouti, told IRIN on Tuesday that Issack
had been formally sworn in as speaker during a ceremony late
on Monday night. As campaigning for the top post heated up,
the sources said the assembly was expected to elect the new
president later this week.
Demonstrators
welcome new parliamentary speaker
Meanwhile,
the Somali newspaper 'Ayaamaha' on Tuesday said residents
of the Bay and Bakool districts in south-central Somalia had
welcomed Issack's election as the first speaker of the assembly.
"Reports
say that a big procession in support of the new speaker was
held in Baydhabo yesterday [Monday] by residents who were
very happy," the newspaper said.
Puntland
leadership concerned at Djibouti talks
The leader
of Somalia's self-declared Puntland region has said there
was "no positive outcome" from talks his administration held
in Ethiopia with a delegation of representatives from the
Djibouti-sponsored Somali peace talks.
In remarks
carried by the Mogadishu newspaper, 'Qaran', the Puntland
leader, Abdullahi Yusuf, was quoted as saying in a local radio
broadcast: "Prepare yourselves to defend your nation to counter
aggression from the Djibouti conference which is geared to
destroying the Puntland administration."
|
