(Somalia,  February 14,  2009 Ceegaag Online)  

Legislators on Saturday approved a former leader's son as Somalia's new prime minister who faces the task of uniting a fractious government besieged by Islamic insurgents that control most of the country.

The legislators backed the appointment Omar Abdirashid Ali Sharmarke by 414 votes to nine at a meeting in neighboring Djibouti, the U.N. political office for Somalia said. Sharmarke's father was a popular elected president who was assassinated in 1969.

President Sheik Sharif Sheik Ahmed named Sharmarke on Friday as his choice for the premiership after the collapse of the previous government in December.

The men have the difficulty job of bringing security and services to a country that has not had a functioning government since 1991 and nearly half the population is dependent on aid.

Ahmed was a key leader of the Council of Islamic Courts that ran Mogadishu for six months in 2006. He was ousted when Somalia's weak U.N.-backed government called in the Ethiopian troops in December 2006 to drive them from power.

Islamist groups including the powerful al-Shabab, which the U.S. State Department says has links to al-Qaida, responded by launching an insurgency that has killed thousands of civilians.

Since Ahmed's election last month, he has vowed to part with his former extremist allies and pursue a moderate Islamic policy. But the insurgents do not recognize the government and have forced it to meet across the border in Djibouti.

Officials hope Ahmed's credentials with the insurgents along with Sharmarke's international experience and family history will all help to unite Somalia. Sharmarke, who holds dual Somali-Canadian citizenship, has held several U.N. posts over the last seven years.

Former foe Ethiopia on Friday expressed confidence in Somalia's new president. Prime Minister Meles Zenawi said Ahmed had assured him of his commitment to peace in Somalia and its neighbors.

"We are happy that we got such reassurance," Meles said. "We believe this is a major trend, a political trend among the so-called moderate Islamists."

Source: Associated Press

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