VOA News
22 Aug 2004, 15:02 UTC
International mediators have begun swearing in members of a new transitional parliament for Somalia, nearly 13 years after the collapse of the nation's central government.
More than 200 new lawmakers took the oath of office for the 245-seat body Sunday during a ceremony at a U.N. compound in neighboring Kenya.
Mediators say leaders of Somali clans have yet to choose delegates to fill the remaining seats in the parliament.
The parliament is expected to choose a president and help form a new central government in the capital, Mogadishu.
Somali warlords and transitional leaders agreed to the new government plan following nearly two years of peace talks in Kenya.
The deal aims to end fighting and restore centralized rule in Somalia after the overthrow of dictator Siad Barre in 1991.