Somalia gets transitional parliament

DJIBOUTI (Reuters) -- A transitional parliament for Somalia -- the first since the Horn of Africa country dissolved into chaos in 1991 -- was formally inaugurated in the neighboring state of Djibouti on Sunday.

Djibouti's jubilant President Ismail Omar Guelleh, whose tiny Red Sea state brokered the accord for the Transitional National Assembly (TNA), declared at the ceremony that his country recognized the new assembly as representing Somalia.

Sunday's inauguration of the parliament at Arta, 37 kilometers (23 miles) from Djibouti's capital, climaxed three months of tough discussions by delegates appointed by Somalia's clans with the aim of creating a national forum for their country.

Somalia has not had a central administration since former president Mohamed Siad Barre was ousted in 1991, and is controlled by a range of clan and factional groups.

Djibouti brokered the Arta conference with support from African and Arab states and the European Union.

"The TNA is to designate a state president and form a central government. "This is a momentous step for Somalia," an African diplomat observing the Arta talks told Reuters.

"This is a significant step towards restoring a governmental framework in a fragmented country now controlled by rival clans and factions."

Speaking at Sunday's ceremony, President Guelleh told the delegates: "The ball is now in your court... Somalia will now again be able to send representatives to international for a, such as the Arab League Ministerial Council in Cairo in September."

Some warlords shun new assembly

Even as the assembly was inaugurated, travelers from central Somalia reported 11 people killed and 20 wounded in fierce fighting between two rival militia in the region on Friday.

The Somali newspaper Xog-Ogaal reported that the fighting was triggered by a dispute over relief food between the Hawadle and Gaaljeel clans in the town of Beled Weyne.

On Sunday, 172 members of the new provisional assembly had been nominated. But it is designed for a total membership of 245, with a three-year term of office, and further nominations are expected.

Formation of the new assembly has only been achieved after lengthy wrangling among the Somali clans. The reservation of 25 seats for women has aroused controversy in traditional Somali circles because it marks a breakthrough in women's rights, Somali sources said.

Some of Somalia's most powerful warlords and faction leaders have refused to support the Djibouti conference, and the Republic of Somaliland, which declared itself independent in 1991, has not attended.

Somaliland covers the area of the former British Somaliland Protectorate which joined with the former Italian Somalia in 1960 to form the independent Republic of Somalia.

Puntland, another self-declared "independent" region, has also boycotted the Arta conference.

But one of the most prominent faction leaders in Mogadishu, Ali Mahdi Mohamed, and Shagigudud, leader of the Rahenwein Resistance Army, have both been nominated by their clans.

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