Chaos surrounds Somali peace talks
NAIROBI, 16 JUNE 2003 (BBC)--The speaker of Somali's interim parliament, Abdallah Derow Isaak, has declared himself the new president of Somalia.
A day after throwing a chair at his deputy in a hotel in the Kenyan capital, Mr Isaak told a news conference that his government had impeached the incumbent president, Abdulkassim Salat Hassan.

Somalia has been without an effective central government since the overthrow of President Siad Barre in 1991.

A transitional national government (TNG) was set up 2000 but only controls part of the capital, Mogadishu.

This latest announcement will do little to boost the credibility of the TNG as a united force at the ongoing Somali peace talks in Nairobi.

Mr Isaak said that he would head the TNG until a new president is appointed, although his claim is unlikely to be taken seriously by most Somalis. MORE