Wednesday, June 24, 2009

Somali legislators flee abroad, parliament paralyzed

"I cannot be a member of a government that cannot protect me," Abdalla Haji Ali, an MP who left for Kenya last week, told Reuters. "In Somalia, nobody is safe."

Well that is what happens when you live in the worst place in the world , and let radical islam run a muck !


NAIROBI (Reuters) - Scores of Somali legislators have fled violence at home to the safety of other countries in Africa, Europe and the United States, leaving the nation's parliament without a quorum to meet.

Violence from an Islamist-led insurgency has worsened this month, with a minister, the Mogadishu police chief, and a legislator all killed. The government, which controls little but a few parts of the capital, has declared a state of emergency.

With reports of foreign jihadists streaming into Somalia, Western security services are frightened Osama bin Laden's al Qaeda network may get a grip on the failed Horn of Africa state that has been without central government for 18 years.

Needing two-thirds of legislators present to meet, Somalia's 550-seat parliament has not convened since April 25.

Officials said on Wednesday that 288 members of parliament (MPs) were abroad, with only about 50 on official visits.
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