Somali PM sacks three ministers

MOGADISHU, Jan. 4 (Xinhua) -- Somali Prime Minister Hassan Ali Khaire on Thursday sacked three ministers in a mini cabinet reshuffle.

The firing, with immediate effect, involved the ministers of foreign affairs, commerce and industry, and interior, according to a statement issued by the Ministry of Information, which did not provide reasons for the dismissals.

The new cabinet members would help the government to tackle its heavy workload, said the statement.

Khaire recalled Ahmed Isse Awad from his ambassadorial post in the United States to fill the vacancy left by Yusuf Garaad Omar as the foreign minister.

Interior Minister Abdi Farah Said will be succeeded by Abdi Mohamed Sabriye, a telecom business figure, while Minister of Commerce and Industry Khadra Ahmed Dualeh by member of parliament Mohamed Abdi Hayir.

Khaire formed the current cabinet in March 2017. In November, he appointed Mohamed Mursal Sheikh as the new defense minister to succeed Abdirashid Abdullahi Mohamed who resigned in October.

The new defense minister was previously the Somali ambassador to Turkey and a former minister of energy and water resources.

The first change in the Somali cabinet was made earlier when Khaire dismissed the minister of religious affairs Iman Abdullahi Ali. Enditem