Somalia’s President Fires Whole Government
This article is from the archive of The New York Sun before the launch of its new website in 2022. The Sun has neither altered nor updated such articles but will seek to correct any errors, mis-categorizations or other problems introduced during transfer.
JOHANNESBURG, South Africa — Somalia’s official president sacked his entire government yesterday, in a desperate bid to counter the Islamist radicals who are poised to capture a large area of the country.
President Yusuf, who enjoys international recognition as Somalia’s leader but controls little more than the ruined town of Baidoa, announced the dismissal of his threadbare administration.
All 100 ministers — some 40 of whom had resigned anyway — have been purged, leaving only the prime minister, Ali Mohammed Ghedi.
“The bloated cabinet of Ali Mohamed Ghedi’s government did not do anything during its tenure,” Mr. Yusuf told the 275-member parliament in Baidoa. “From today onwards, the government has been dissolved — only the prime minister will remain.”
The striking success of a coalition of Islamist radicals, styling itself as the Supreme Council of Islamic Courts, has plunged Somalia’s official government into crisis. Having captured the capital, Mogadishu, and much surrounding territory, the Islamists now threaten Baidoa and the very future of Mr. Yusuf’s administration.
His ministers were bitterly divided over how to respond to this challenge. One faction favored talks with the Islamists and incorporating their leaders into a new, power-sharing administration. Others opposed any compromise.
Mr. Yusuf hopes to appoint a new government and settle this dispute. But he is entirely dependent on outside support, notably from neighboring Ethiopia, which fears that any further advances by the Islamists may spark turmoil inside its own borders.
