Somalia president expected to resign

Reporting from Nairobi, Kenya -- Somalia's aging president is expected to resign in the coming days, aides said Wednesday, succumbing to threats of impeachment and international sanctions over his refusal to support a national reconciliation plan.Abdullahi Yusuf, a warlord-turned-statesman, was once widely viewed as the linchpin of Somalia's transitional government. But in recent months, Yusuf, 74, has repeatedly clashed with the prime minister and has come to be regarded as an obstacle to peace.
Yusuf's departure would mark a turning point for the Horn of Africa nation. It could reignite clan warfare, but it also could clear the way for a new power-sharing government that includes a key Islamist opposition faction."Yusuf was always a liability to Somalia and to the peace process," said Ali Said Omar Ibrahim, head of the Center for Peace and Democracy, a Somali peace advocacy group. "This is going to help bring in a new era for Somalia by helping different stakeholders come together to decide the country's future." more...http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-somalia-president25-2008dec25,0,3872450.story

Somali president decides to resign

MOGADISHU - Somali President Abdullahi Yusuf has decided to resign, his spokesman said on Wednesday, in a move the African Union said would be positive for the peace process in the Horn of Africa nation.Yusuf has been accused by donor countries and regional governments of being an obstacle to U.N.-hosted peace talks.His rift with Prime Minister Nur Hassan Hussein has pushed the Western-backed interim government, struggling against Islamist insurgents, to the brink of collapse"The president has already written his resignation letter and he is expected to announce it on the coming Saturday," Hussein Mohamed Mohamud, a presidential spokesman, told Reuters, declining to give a reason for the decision.The announcement came shortly after the resignation of a politician Yusuf named prime minister last week, who said he did not want to be an obstacle to peace in Somalia."The move is a dignified move on the part of the president. If his decision is to resign, I would congratulate him," said Nicolas Bwakira, the African Union Commission's Special Representative for Somalia."It is, overall, a good move. It will give the opportunity to all parties to form a new leadership," Bwakira told Reuters. "It will resuscitate the peace process." Yusuf sacked Hussein earlier this month and appointed Mohamed Mohamud Guled instead, the man who quit on Wednesday.
Parliament and the international community backed Hussein, leaving the already weak government with two prime ministers. A regional bloc spearheading the peace process agreed on Sunday to sanctions on Yusuf and others seen as hindering the talks.Yusuf sacked Hussein earlier this month and appointed Mohamed Mohamud Guled instead, the man who quit on Wednesday.
Parliament and the international community backed Hussein, leaving the already weak government with two prime ministers. A regional bloc spearheading the peace process agreed on Sunday to sanctions on Yusuf and others seen as hindering the talks. more..http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/world/2008-12/25/content_7339464.htm

Be careful what you wish for

this is the true fact about somali

1# Somalia's jihadists. ... the "most powerful force in Somalia today".

2#Abillahi Yusuf is the founder of the Puntland region of Somalia ... is second ..one of the most powerful after shabaab he lost his own brother and cousin.to somali mostly hawye jihadist war ..and he lost a lot of members of his tribe to war

3#JUBALAND army units who come under the command of a Somali Member of Parliament and former Defense Minister Bare Adan Shire (hirale) third most power>>.. lost his brother and cousin...-jihadist war ..and members of his tribeThe Only One to fight shabaab..Without Outside Help..lose the trust of TFG a long time ago..The emergence of jubbaland is a great development; they should bring their idea to discuss in an all-Somali national table, and then on a minimum basis of agreement a national government should be formed, able to represent all the Somalis from every region of Somalia.

4# PM nure and shareef(ICU) and transitional Somali parliament are the least powerful ..they don't have any army..and never stand up against jihad

Looks like we are Accept Defeat Gracefully in somalia

Not alks with terrorists , you are welcome for the destruction of mogadishu , wewill see who would win this tactics , there will be mass exodus from mogadishu , theasmara group is begging now for talks and somali reconciliation but it is too latenow .You thought you can win , let's see who will hold the upper hand , let the drums ofwar be played , we will see who is gonna loose and who is gonna win.Don't ever cry , be like a man.Get out all your arms and men and we will do the same , no negotiation , no talking,you have known war and destruction for 17 years and now your final days have arrived.Hawiye you are insensitive immoral moryaan , this is what you deserve.You killed millions of innocent people .Now is your turn., You expelled millions ofpeople , now is your turn.No talk with terrorists , Nur Hassan is a crazy man, youdon't deserve any kind of attention let alone talking with you , you destroyed yourown houses for 17 years of inter-hawiye wars , you will never see peace in mogadishu, don't cry for reconciliation , Ethiopia will not leave mogadishu, you have beenmarginalized by the international community , nobody cares about hawiye , you don'tknow how to play the games , you outsmarted the old siyad barre , you can't outsmartthe fox-yeey, See you you in the graves.

Somali President to Resign, Officials Say

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/25/world/africa/25somalia.html?_r=1&ref=africa

somali leader quit threat denied

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/7799512.stm

Somali President Abdullahi Yusuf announced the he intends to formally resign as of Saturday in a move praised by the African Union as a way to strengthen the mandate (such as it is) of the floudering Somali government and allow Yusuf to “go with some sort of dignity.”
The announcement came just hours after Prime Minister Mohamed Guled, himself in power for only a week after Yusuf dismissed the former prime minister, announced his own resignation. While Yusuf gave no official reason for his resignation, Guled said his own decision was based on a desire “to end infighting among the government.” Guled’s resignation likely opens the way for former Prime Minister Nur Hassan Hussein to return to power.
But the source of Yusuf’s resignation isn’t a total mystery. The move came in the wake of a meeting with US under-secretary for African affairs Jendayi Frazer, who reportedly ordered the Somali President to restore former Prime Minister Nur to power or resign. If he refused, the US would reportedly back sanctions against him.
So Yusuf is out, and talks are now of a power-sharing deal in the Somali government. But with the Islamist insurgency seizing ever more of the country, the question much be asked: what power is there left for this self-proclaimed government to share, and how long will anyone be able to keep it?