Abu Umar | 

Parliament approves Islamic law in Somalia

MOGADISHU: Somalia's parliament unanimously approved on Saturday a government proposal to introduce Islamic sharia law in the country, parliamentary deputy speaker Osman Elmi Bogore told AFP.

"There were 340 members at the session and they voted unanimously for the implementation of Islamic sharia in Somalia," said Bogore, who presided over the debates in the absence of speaker Aden Mohamed Nur.

"The bill... is approved by the Parliament.... We have an Islamic government," he added.

Somalia's cabinet last month endorsed the plan to introduce sharia, a key demand by hardline Islamists who are opposed to the government.

"Islamic sharia is the only option to get solutions for the problems in this country," Information Minister Farhan Ali Mohamoud told reporters on March 10.

On February 28, President Sharif Sheikh Ahmed agreed to proposals by local and foreign religious leaders for a truce with the hardliners and the implementation of sharia.

Islamist Shebab militia have already imposed the law in areas of the war-torn country under their control.

Ahmed, a moderate Islamist, was elected president on January 31 following a United Nations-brokered reconciliation and vowed to form an inclusive government.

But the Shebab and other militia have continued to battle the government and its allies.

Clan fighting and rivalry have scuppered numerous attempts to restore stability in the country since it plunged into a civil war with the 1991 ouster of president Mohamed Siad Barre.

- AFP/so

Source : channelnewsasia.com

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