Somalia's president 'sacks PM'

Mr Hussein says the president does not have the power to fire him

The Somali President, Abdullahi Yusuf Ahmed, has sacked PM Nur Hassan Hussein and the interim government.

At a news conference in Baidoa, the president said Mr Hussein, who was sworn into office in November 2007, had failed to bring security to Somalia.

The move follows tension between the two in recent months over attempts to deal with the Islamist-led opposition.

However Mr Hussein told the BBC the president alone did not have the power to remove him from office.

Somalia has not had a functioning national government since President Mohamed Siad Barre was overthrown in 1991.

The government of Nur Hassan Hussein was unable to perform its duties and I am obliged to save the country Somali President Abdullahi Yusuf Ahmed

President Yusuf's administration only controls parts of the capital, Mogadishu and the town of Baidoa after recent advances by Islamist insurgents.

It is dependent on international aid and Ethiopian military support to function.

Speaking in Baidoa, the seat of the interim parliament, President Yusuf said: "As of now, I have sacked the prime minister and his current government and I will nominate a new prime minister within days."

"The government of Nur Hassan Hussein was unable to perform its duties and I am obliged to save the country," he said.

The president said he was confident that parliament would approve his decision.

Strains

Mr Hussein responded by saying the president had no power to discharge him and his cabinet.

"When it comes to the dismissal of the prime minister, he has no power," he told the BBC Somali service.

"Any step that he wants to take with the prime minister, he should in fact inform and ask the parliament to take that action."

Relations between the president and his premier have been strained in recent months, particularly over reconciliation efforts with the Islamist-led opposition.

The rift between the two leaders has spread to parliament, where supporters of President Yusuf have previously threatened to pass a vote of no-confidence in the prime minister.

The president said the dismissal would not harm a UN-sponsored peace process, which aims to bring the country's more moderate Islamists back into the fold.

Mr Hussein was appointed prime minister in November to replace Ali Mohamed Ghedi, who had refused to negotiate with armed Islamists and other opposition groups.

Mr Hussein was seen as a neutral figure who would make competent prime minister.