afrol News, 3 December - The new Somali Prime Minister, Nor Hassan Hussein, on Sunday named his cabinet after a discussion with lawmakers in Baidoa, northwest of Somalia.

Almost all the members of the 31-member cabinet [except two] are members of parliament. An earlier amendment to Somalia's constitution endorsed the appointment of MPs to the cabinet.

But the key ministerial positions: Interior, Education, Health and Oil have so far remained intact. The new cabinet line-up included two women.

The naming of the cabinet was done in the midst of the ongoing increasing street battles between Islamic insurgents and the Ethiopian-backed interim government troops in the capital Mogadishu. The latest fighting has reportedly left 10 innocent civilians dead.

Security agents raided the homes of private people, arresting and detaining at least 100 people. An insurgent attack on a new military installation in Yaqshid district at the weekend promted the interim government into action.

A report released by a Somali human rights organisation, Elman Human Rights Group put the death toll of Mogadishu this year at 5,930. The group said while 7,980 have been wounded, 717,784 fled the violence.

Since the ousting of the Islamic Courts Union by Ethiopia-backed forces last December, Mogadishu had been at the centre of insurgency attacks.

By staff writer

© afrol News

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