Sunday, May 12, 2007
 Hussein Mohamed Aidid and Col. Barre Aden Shire Hirale |
In a statement released by his office, Gedi said he had dismissed Deputy Prime-Minister Hussein Mohamed Aidid and Defence Minister Barre Aden Shire Hirale but did not give a reason.
Aidid, a former warlord, railed against his sacking from the Eritrean capital Asmara, where he relocated last month. He has repeatedly called for the withdrawal of Ethiopian troops from Somalia.
"It is a completely illegal procedure," Aidid told AFP. "Reshuffles or changes have to be approved by parliament but Gedi has not done that."
The government, backed by Ethiopian forces and African Union peacekeepers, has been grappling to gain control of Mogadishu since the January ouster of an Islamist movement.
It has been unable to exert authority over the country since its formation in 2004.
"Gedi is taking Somalia in the wrong direction and we need to stop and return to the correct route," he said.
"There is no government in Somalia, only a military operation run by Ethiopia that is destroying the lives and property of all those in the capital."
Mogadishu recently suffered some of the worst violence in 16 years that killed several hundred civilians and displaced thousands of others despite the presence of outside forces.
Somalia has been without an effective government since the 1991 toppling of dictator Mohamed Siad Barre sparked a bloody power struggle that has defied numerous attempts to restore stability.
Source: AFP, May 12, 2007