Leader of Puntland 'sacked'

The leader of the semi-autonomous Puntland administration in Somalia has been removed from office and replaced with the supreme court president, Mr Yusuf Haji Nur.

A BBC correspondent in the Somali capital, Mogadishu, quotes clan elders who took the decision as saying the administration of the former leader, Abdulayi Yusuf, had been operating illegally since its term ended on 30 June.

However, Mr Yusuf has rejected the decision.

He told the BBC the elders had no political or constitutional right to remove him from office.

Mr Nur was sacked by Mr Yusuf after challenging the leader's bid to extend his presidential term. The north-eastern Somali state was created in 1998 after faction leaders failed to set up a central government

From the newsroom of the BBC World Service