Somali president clings to office

President Salat says he will remain in power

Somalia's transitional leader has announced that his government will not stand down on Wednesday when their three-year term expires.

President Abdulkassim Salat Hassan said at the weekend they would remain in power until an alternative is found.

A vote of no confidence was also passed in the prime minister and parliamentary speaker, who remained at peace talks in Kenya, when President Salat pulled out. Hundreds of Somalis took part in a demonstration in southern Mogadishu, in support of President Salat.

The delegates from the TNG at the Mbagathi have been put into the hands of the Somalis' enemy President Salat

Aides of the sacked prime minister - the transitional government's chief negotiator, dismissed the vote as meaningless and said the gathering did not have a quorum.

'Anti-Islamic'

Talks mediator Bethuel Kiplagat said that the United Nations and African Union will decide what to do if delegates do not form a new government by Wednesday when the TNG's mandate runs out.

President Salat, who quit the talks in Mbagathi, Kenya on 29 July, accused the peace conference of taking an anti-Islamic direction saying that a transitional constitution being negotiated in Kenya would create a federal state that would divide Somalia.

"The delegates from the TNG at the Mbagathi have been put into the hands of the Somalis' enemy. I gave them a chance to think but they decided to ally with our enemy, " he said in a statement on Saturday.