“Still president” says Abdullahi Yusuf

Colonel Abdullahi Yusuf told the BBC on Thursday he was still the president of the self-declared autonomous region of Puntland, northeastern Somalia. He blamed fighting and political confusion on Islamic fundamentalists, and said he planned to remain in Galkayo - his home town - for the present. His spokesman, Isma’il Warsame, spoke to IRIN from Galkayo, and said Abdullahi Yusuf still enjoyed the support of the public “except for fundamentalists and disgruntled individuals”.

However, the newly established leader in Bososo, the former chief justice, Yusuf Haji Nur, has asserted himself as the sole authority in Puntland, saying Abdullahi Yusuf should “see the writing on the wall”. Yusuf Nur told IRIN that it while Abdullahi Yusuf’s circumstances were not clear, “he has been ejected from Bosaso and Garowe... and has no public support”. Yusuf Haji said he would continue as acting president until a general congress was held on 31 August to decide on a new leader, but that he would not be standing as a presidential candidate. [For more details see IRIN separate SOMALIA: Puntland leader refuses to step down]