New Somali PM to return home

The newly-appointed Somali Prime Minister, Ali Khalifa Galad, says he plans to return to Mogadishu in a few days time.

Speaking in Djibouti, he said he was not underestimating the difficult task of reconstructing Somalia, which has been without a central government for nearly a decade.

Mr Galad told the BBC the main challenge facing his administration would be to build the public service and a machinery for public policy.

The Somali interim President, Abdulkassim Salad Hassan, appointed Mr Galad on Saturday.

Mr Galad said he did not expect trouble from faction leaders opposed to the reconciliation process which started in neighbouring Djibouti and culminated in the election of an interim parliament and president.

He said he had conducted informal talks with a number of the faction leaders.

From the newsroom of the BBC World Service