Somalia’s MPs elected a Somali-US national as president

Abdullahi “Farmajo” Mohamed

ESAT News (February 8, 2017)

Somalia’s MPs have elected a Somali-US national as the country’s new president in a vote held in an aircraft hangar, the BBC reported on Wednesday.

Ex-Prime Minister Mohamed Abdullahi “Farmajo” Mohamed beat President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud in a surprise result.

The vote was held at the heavily guarded airport complex in the capital, Mogadishu, as the rest of the country is too dangerous, the report said.

Traffic was banned and a no-fly zone imposed over the city to prevent attacks by militant Islamists.

Despite this, suspected militants fired mortar rounds close to the venue on Tuesday night, according to the BBC.