U.S. welcomes Somali parliament

The United States Monday welcomed the formation of a transitional parliament in Somalia, an African nation beset with ethnic violence and factional fighting.

A 194-member transitional federal assembly was sworn in the Kenyan capital Nairobi Sunday following intense international efforts to end the Somali crisis.

But Kenyan officials, who led the negotiations, said dozens of would-be MPs were not sworn in because some clans had not agreed on the names.

This is an important step toward the reestablishment of effective governance and stability in Somalia, the U.S. State Department said,

In a statement issued in Washington Monday evening, department deputy spokesman Adam Ereli also noted the absence of some MPs. We are concerned that 81 members of the transitional federal assembly have not yet been selected, he said. We urge the Somali participants to work in an inclusive manner to quickly resolve the remaining differences blocking the swearing-in of the remaining assembly members.

He said only when the assembly is complete will it be possible to select a president, prime minister and other government officials to create a representative transitional government in Somalia.