Blast strikes Somali PM's rally

It is not clear what caused the blast

A blast has killed at least 14 people and injured 30 at a rally in a football stadium in Somalia's capital being addressed by the prime minister.

The explosion went off as Ali Mohammed Ghedi began his speech. He later told the BBC that a security guard had accidentally set off a grenade.

Mr Ghedi, on his first Mogadishu visit since being appointed, is negotiating his government's return from exile.

Somalia has had no functioning central authority since 1991.

Mogadishu is considered to be an especially dangerous location for the government to be based in.

'Not deterred'

The BBC's Mohammed Olad Hassan in Mogadishu says that several thousand Somalis, who had gone to welcome the prime minister, waving flags and chanting pro-government slogans, fled from the stadium in panic.

Ghedi is under pressure to base his government in the capital

He said that some people were injured in the stampede, while others were hurt when security guards started firing their guns.

The dead and wounded have been taken to local hospitals. One doctor said that two people had died from their injuries.

Information Minister Abdullahi Mohamud Jamah Sifir told the BBC that one of the militiamen with a grenade launcher had accidentally dropped it, causing the explosion.

Security

The transitional government, which is based in Nairobi in neighbouring Kenya, is under pressure from foreign donors to relocate to Somalia.

But Somalia's political leaders and warlords are divided over where in Somalia the administration should be based.

Somalia has been devastated by 14 years of war

While the interim constitution names Mogadishu as the capital, the city is considered the most dangerous place in Somalia.

It is divided between rival warlords, whose gunmen can be seen operating roadblocks on many street corners, where they demand money from commercial vehicles.

Most of the city's government buildings are in ruins, or are inhabited by refugees after 14 years of anarchy.

Some MPs want the government to relocate to Baidoa and Jowhar until Mogadishu is considered safe enough.

Just before the blast, Mr Ghedi said that the government would relocate to Mogadishu if it became less dangerous.

"The security situation is the most important thing," he told the crowd.

As many as 10,000 regional peacekeepers are due to start arriving in the next few weeks to provide security for the government.

But some local warlords, who have been named as ministers, remain opposed to their deployment.