Somali MPs in peacekeeper brawl

Key warlords oppose the deployment of regional troops

Somali MPs traded physical blows as parliament voted against the deployment of peacekeepers to Somalia.

The president wants regional troops to help with the relocation of the administration from neighbouring Kenya, but key warlords oppose the move.

Dressed in suits and ties, the MPs threw heavy chairs at each other and beat each other with sticks.

Since 1991, when the government fell, rival warlords have divided Somalia into a patchwork of fiefdoms.

Bleeding wounds

According to the BBC's Caroline Karobia in Nairobi the scuffles began after the parliament speaker asked MPs to raise their hands in the vote.

More than half of them were against sending regional troops to Somalia.

Facts and figures about life in Somalia

At-a-glance

"There was a big fight because the opposition was not happy with the vote," MP Abdalla Boss Ahmed told Reuters news agency.

Kenya television showed footage of the brawl, with parliamentarians tending to bleeding head wounds.

Meanwhile, the regional body Igad, has warned the new Somalia transitional government that time is running out for it to re-locate from the Kenyan capital, Nairobi back to Mogadishu.

So far, Somali parliamentarians have been unable to return to Mogadishu because of security concerns.

President Abdullahi Yusuf wants peacekeepers from neighbouring countries, including Ethiopia, to protect his government and to disarm the thousands of militiamen.

The African Union has authorised the deployment of thousands of troops from several regional countries to help with the relocation.

But key warlords are opposed to the inclusion of Ethiopian troops and there have been huge protests in the capital.