New Somali president to be sworn in

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Source: CCTV.com | 02-01-2009 13:41

A moderate Islamic leader will be sworn in as Somalia's new president.

Sheik Sharif Sheik Ahmed's election followed the resignation of the Somalia's last president in December for failing to pacify the country.

Sheik Sharif Sheik Ahmed, the moderate Islamist  leader of the opposition coalition the Alliance  for the Re-liberation of Somalia, seen here  in 2006, wins the Somali presidency in a  parliamentary vote in Djibouti early Saturday.  (Xinhua/AFP Photo)

There are hopes Ahmed will bring many of Somalia's Islamic factions into a more inclusive government. However, the western-backed government wields little control in Somalia. An Islamic insurgent group called al-Shabab controls most of the country.

The US considers the group a terror organization with links to al-Qaida. Somalia has not had a functioning government since 1991.

Editor:Zhang Yun