Somali president asks PM to organise elections

MOGADISHU: Somalia’s President Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed asked his prime minister on Saturday to organise elections as soon as possible in a move that seeks to calm the country’s worst political crisis in years.

In a brief speech before parliament that was broadcast live, Farmajo, as the president is nicknamed, abandoned a policy voted earlier in the month that extended his term in office by two years.

"We have decided to seek the solution through negotiations and to avoid starting violence in the benefit of those who trade on the blood of the public," he said.

Deadly clashes have broken out between armed rivals in the capital Mogadishu since Farmajo failed to hold elections before his term ended in February.