Mahad Abdalle Awad became the second deputy speaker.

The new Somalia parliament also elected Jeilani Nur Ikar as the First Deputy Speaker and Mahad Abdalla Awed as the Second Deputy Speaker in a highly contested vote on Tuesday.


Also elected were the speaker's two deputies: Jaylaani Nur Ikar, the former minister of public works and reconstruction in the transitional federal government, won the position of first deputy speaker, while Mahad Abdalle Awad became the second deputy speaker (ex-Mahad Abdalle Awad (MP)Deputy-Minister Ministry of Planning International Cooperation)






MOGADISHU: The second group of the Putera 1Malaysia Club humanitarian mission has arrived here to distribute aid.

The Malaysian air force's C-130 transport aircraft, carrying 48 volunteers and eight tonnes of supplies as well as 26 air force personnel, landed at the Mogadishu airport here on Monday morning after taking off from the Subang air force base in Kuala Lumpur the previous day.

Prior to arriving here, the aircraft transited in the Maldives and Seychelles.

Welcome aid: Abdul Azeez (third from right) speaking to members of the transitional government Mohamad Dakanee (left) and Mahad Awad after touching down in Mogadishu on Monday. — Bernama

The volunteers were greeted on arrival here by local leaders including Deputy Minister of Fisheries and Environment Ah-mad Hassan Adam, as well as several members of Somalia's legislature.

Mission chief Datuk Abdul Azeez Abdul Rahim, who is also the club president, said the trip would cover five areas, with Mogadishu being the first stop.

While here the mission will distribute aid in Badbadur, about 25km away, where about 250,000 people are taking refuge.

From Badbadur, the mission will proceed to Al Shabeb in Merka where 300,000 people are affected by the famine and in the Balet Veni camps which house 100,000 people.

Both areas are located 100km from Mogadishu.

Essential supplies: Workers unloading food and medicine from the aircraft at the Mogadishu airport on Monday. — Bernama

Operations chief Lt-Kol Zahani Zainal Abdin said the nine-hour transit in Seychelles was crucial to the mission's safety because it would be risky to fly into Mogadishu at night.

The mission aims to distribute 250 tonnes of foodstuff and medicine to about 45,000 families. - Bernama