Somalia Government Officials

Hussein Mohammed Aidid, who landed as a U.S. Marine in Somalia in 1992, was named Sunday to succeed his late father, Gen. Mohammed Farah Aidid, the powerful faction leader who humiliated the U.S. military. The younger Aidid's appointment by his father's supporters came hours after they issued a policy document making it clear that the general's death will not lead to reconciliation among warring factions.

The speaker of Somalia's parliament appeared after two days of hiding Monday and accused neighboring Ethiopia of masterminding an attack on his entourage that left at least nine people dead and dozens injured. A delegation led by speaker Abdalla Derow Issak, which included a government minister and seven legislators, was ambushed Saturday by more than 200 anti-government gunmen 185 miles northwest of Mogadishu, the capital.

Somalia has dispatched dozens of heavily armed men to rescue the parliament speaker and other officials in hiding since they were ambushed about 185 miles northwest of Mogadishu, the capital, by an anti-government militia, an official said. The force will not attack the Rahanwein Resistance Army gunmen who ambushed the group, but will meet the group at a village about 40 miles east of the ambush site, the official said. Speaker Abdalla Derow Issak and the others were said to be on foot.

Somalia has dispatched dozens of heavily armed men to rescue the parliament speaker and other officials in hiding since they were ambushed about 185 miles northwest of Mogadishu, the capital, by an anti-government militia, an official said. The force will not attack the Rahanwein Resistance Army gunmen who ambushed the group, but will meet the group at a village about 40 miles east of the ambush site, the official said. Speaker Abdalla Derow Issak and the others were said to be on foot.

The speaker of Somalia's parliament appeared after two days of hiding Monday and accused neighboring Ethiopia of masterminding an attack on his entourage that left at least nine people dead and dozens injured. A delegation led by speaker Abdalla Derow Issak, which included a government minister and seven legislators, was ambushed Saturday by more than 200 anti-government gunmen 185 miles northwest of Mogadishu, the capital.

Somali President Mohamed Siad Barre fired two Cabinet ministers, accusing them of anti-government activities, the official Sonna news agency reported. Maj. Gen. Aden Abdullahi Nur and Mohammed Abdulleh Baadleh, both ministers-without-portfolio, were charged with "activities inimical to the sovereignty, unity and security of the country."

Somalia's fledgling parliament elected veteran politician Abdiqassim Salad Hassan as president, the country's first since it collapsed into anarchy nine years ago. Abdiqassim Salad, 58, served as deputy prime minister and interior minister in the government of dictator Mohamed Siad Barre, whose ouster in 1991 was followed by civil war between rival clan-based factions.

President Ali Mahdi Mohamed of Somalia was reportedly overthrown Monday after two days of ethnic fighting between rival forces of the ruling United Somali Congress that seized power 10 months ago. Diplomats and aid workers, quoting reports on state-run Radio Mogadishu, said that clan rival Gen. Mohamed Farrah Aidid had toppled Mahdi. The reports could not be independently confirmed.

Somalia's interim President Ali Mahdi Mohamed approved a caretaker Cabinet, a week after rebels overran the capital of Mogadishu and ended the 21-year rule of President Mohamed Siad Barre. State radio named 10 ministers in the Cabinet, which it said was submitted to Mahdi by interim Prime Minister Umar Arteh Ghalib.

In Somalia, he may be a feared warlord. But back home in the San Gabriel Valley, Hussein Mohammed Aidid was a $9-an-hour municipal clerk, a part-time college student and a corporal in the U.S. Marine Reserve, who as of Wednesday was absent from his Pico Rivera artillery unit. On Sunday, Aidid, 34, replaced his late father, the notorious strongman Gen. Mohammed Farah Aidid, as leader of one of Somalia's dominant warring factions, the United Somali Congress-Somali National Alliance.

Somalia's fledgling parliament elected veteran politician Abdiqassim Salad Hassan as president, the country's first since it collapsed into anarchy nine years ago. Abdiqassim Salad, 58, served as deputy prime minister and interior minister in the government of dictator Mohamed Siad Barre, whose ouster in 1991 was followed by civil war between rival clan-based factions.

In Somalia, he may be a feared warlord. But back home in the San Gabriel Valley, Hussein Mohammed Aidid was a $9-an-hour municipal clerk, a part-time college student and a corporal in the U.S. Marine Reserve, who as of Wednesday was absent from his Pico Rivera artillery unit. On Sunday, Aidid, 34, replaced his late father, the notorious strongman Gen. Mohammed Farah Aidid, as leader of one of Somalia's dominant warring factions, the United Somali Congress-Somali National Alliance.

In Somalia, he may be a feared warlord. But back home in the San Gabriel Valley, Hussein Mohammed Aidid was a $9-an-hour municipal clerk, a part-time college student and a corporal in the United States Marine Reserve, who as of Wednesday was absent from his Pico Rivera artillery unit. On Sunday, Aidid, 34, replaced his late father, the notorious strongman Gen. Mohammed Farah Aidid, as leader of one of Somalia's dominant warring factions, the United Somali Congress-Somali National Alliance.

Hussein Mohammed Aidid, who landed as a U.S. Marine in Somalia in 1992, was named Sunday to succeed his late father, Gen. Mohammed Farah Aidid, the powerful faction leader who humiliated the U.S. military. The younger Aidid's appointment by his father's supporters came hours after they issued a policy document making it clear that the general's death will not lead to reconciliation among warring factions.

Each day he awakened in a prison cell in Somalia, Omar Mohallim wondered if this would be the day he would die. The repressive government of dictator Mohamed Siad Barre had confiscated his land, taken his money and accused him of betraying the state in 1969, all without filing formal charges or presenting evidence, he recalled this week. "With this kind of regime you don't ask the charges," said Mohallim, who became the first Somalian ambassador to the United States in 1960.

At this desert way station for governments that have lost their way, Somalia's prime minister, Umar Arteh Ghalib, waits in a marbled Arab palace for the phone call that will summon him back to the hell he calls home. It is the same palace where Kuwaiti Emir Jabbar al Ahmed al Sabah cooled his heels for several days after his desperate flight from the Iraqis in Kuwait city. Deposed Ugandan dictator Idi Amin sought refuge here from his enemies a few miles across the Saudi Desert to the west.

The warlord who controls northern Mogadishu on Saturday welcomed a proposal to send up to 30,000 American troops to Somalia to help relief workers fight the nation's famine. Ali Mahdi Mohamed approved the plan one day after his archenemy, the warlord who controls southern Mogadishu, gave it his blessing.

In an informal ceremony punctuated by gunfire, victorious rebels Tuesday inaugurated a new president and vowed to hunt down deposed dictator Mohamed Siad Barre. Ali Mahdi Mohamed, 52, installed by the insurgent United Somali Congress, promised democracy, invited other powerful rebel groups to join in running the country and said that he would appeal for international aid to restore an economy shattered by years of corruption and warfare.

The warlord who controls northern Mogadishu on Saturday welcomed a proposal to send up to 30,000 American troops to Somalia to help relief workers fight the nation's famine. Ali Mahdi Mohamed approved the plan one day after his archenemy, the warlord who controls southern Mogadishu, gave it his blessing.

President Ali Mahdi Mohamed of Somalia was reportedly overthrown Monday after two days of ethnic fighting between rival forces of the ruling United Somali Congress that seized power 10 months ago. Diplomats and aid workers, quoting reports on state-run Radio Mogadishu, said that clan rival Gen. Mohamed Farrah Aidid had toppled Mahdi. The reports could not be independently confirmed.