Somali lawmakers gathered at the presidential palace in the capital Mogadishu on Sunday to overwhelmingly support the new ministers appointed by Prime Minister Hamza Abdi Barre last week. During the voting, several mortar explosions hit the capital.
Somali Parliament Speaker Adan Mohamed Nur Madbe said at a rally in the palace's highly fortified Villa Hargeisa that 229 MPs voted in favor of the Cabinet, with seven said they voted against and one abstained.
Prime Minister Hamza Abdi Barre addressed parliament after the vote and welcomed the result.
He said: To overcome all the challenges we face.I want to thank you again for your overwhelming approval.
The parliament-approved cabinet is Mukhtar Lobo Ali, known as Abu Munsol, former deputy leader and spokesman for the extremist group al-Shabaab.
Mursal Mohammed Khalifa, the federal parliament, told VOA of the approval process. Nevertheless, an overwhelming majority of MPs, namely 229, voted in favor of the approval of the new bill by the Cabinet. said
Anwar Abdifata Bashir, a lecturer at the National University of Somali and political analyst for the Horn of Africa, said the new government
"This is due to Somalia's prolonged drought, the lack of security in the country, and the recent attacks on the Ethiopian border by al-Shabaab in Ethiopia's Somali region. , because it faces many challenges,” he said.
During the voting in the capital, several mortar shells hit the city.
A witness in his Warta Nabada district of Mogadishu told his VOA that several shells landed near the presidential palace.
A police officer acknowledged the attack on his VOA but refused to give details of casualties.
Al-Shabab claimed responsibility and fired seven mortar rounds. He said the palace had been shelled.
Meanwhile, in the town of Jowar, the capital of Somalia's Hirshabele province, a bomb exploded near a hotel that al-Shabab attacked last month, killing at least five of his victims, including a soldier, two children and two women. a person was injured. No one has claimed responsibility.
Ibrahim Ali Noor, a local journalist in the town, said he spoke with VOA that the explosion destroyed several facilities. Jowar is an agricultural town located 90 kilometers north of Mogadishu.
