By Ahmed Mohamed
BAIDOA, Somalia (Reuters) - Somalia's new prime minister named an "all-inclusive" cabinet on Sunday and called for talks with opponents to end an Islamist-led insurgency that a rights group said had killed nearly 6,000 civilians this year.
The Elman Peace and Human Rights Organisation said it had verified 5,930 deaths, 7,980 people wounded, and 717,784 displaced from homes in Mogadishu, during a year that saw the toppling of an Islamist movement, then an insurgency.
In some of his first public comments on the conflict, Somalia's new prime minister, Nur Hassan Hussein, said he was open to talks with an Eritrean-based opposition alliance.
"We are ready to speak with the Asmara group as long as they are ready to discuss with us," Hussein told Kenya's NTV news. "We are not naming anyone from the opposition leaders, but we are ready for positive advice and criticism."
Somalia's interim government, formed in neighbouring Kenya in 2004 and due to hold elections in 2009, is under pressure from international backers to reach out to the opposition.
Hussein's appointment at the end of November to replace sacked predecessor Ali Mohamed Gedi was viewed by many as an opportunity for reconciliation in a nation wracked by conflict since warlords overthrew a dictator in 1991.
In the NTV interview, Hussein said he would take advantage of new legislation allowing ministers to be chosen from outside parliament to allow "an all-inclusive government."
Later on Sunday, his new 31-minister cabinet was unveiled in Baidoa, the seat of the Somali parliament.
NEW FACES
It included at least two ministers from outside parliament -- Foreign Minister Mohamed Ali Hamud and Information Minister Abdirahman Ali Hussein.
Thirty-one deputy ministers were named, at least one, deputy planning minister Jamilo Saeed Muse, was also from outside parliament.
It was not immediately clear what clans the new ministers belonged to in a formula intended to ensure fair representation from all major clans.
At the ceremony, President Abdullahi Yusuf urged parliament to endorse the new cabinet in two days' time. "I also ask the international community to help us reach 2009 when there will be an election in this country," he said.
Hussein said he hoped stabilisation in Somalia would pave the way for the exit of the government's Ethiopian military backers, who are resented by many Somalis. "As the situation improves, the need for Ethiopian troops will decrease."
After forming his cabinet, Hussein said priorities would be establishing security, helping resolve the humanitarian crisis -- with 1 million internally displaced refugees, according to
the United Nations -- and promoting reconciliation.
"We will try to get the confidence of our people," he said in the interview.
A career public servant and lawyer who worked as a senior police officer and attorney general, Hussein won wide praise for his work heading the Somali Red Crescent Society since 1991.
His interim government is the 14th attempt to establish an effective central authority in Somalia since 1991.
Elman rights group's head, Sudani Ali Ahmed, said he was in hiding and planned to leave Somalia due to pressure over his organisation's reports on the violence.
"The government is looking for me because of my work. Some intelligence officers told me that if I don't shut up they will shut me up," he said by telephone.
Somali and Ethiopian officials have in the past disputed the Elman group's figures and accused it of being close to the Islamist side. But many outside analysts believe the group's figures are probably close to the mark. Ahmed said he has 106 people helping him collect and verify information.
(Additional reporting by Abdi Sheikh in Nairobi and Aweys Yusuf in Mogadishu; Writing by Andrew Cawthorne; Editing by Matthew Tostevin)
SOURCE: Reuters, December 2, 2007