Somali prime minister steps down

Mr Yusuf (l) and his prime minister (r) have failed to secure peace

The prime minister of Somalia's transitional government, Ali Mohamed Ghedi, has resigned.
Mr Ghedi told MPs of his decision after handing in his resignation to President Abdullahi Ahmed Yusuf.

Mr Ghedi has been blamed for failing to quell the Islamist insurgency in Somalia and for bringing Ethiopian troops onto Somali soil.

On Sunday, thousands fled the capital, Mogadishu, after Ethiopian troops opened fire on protestors.

The tznews correspondent says that the prime minister's political future has for some time hung in the balance.

She says that despite efforts to salvage his job during talks at the weekend in Ethiopia, he has agreed to step down after pressure from within Somalia and the international community, in particular from the US.