Somali's Yusef resigns as president

BAIDOA, Somalia, Dec. 29 (UPI) -- Somali President Abdullahi Yusef Ahmed, blamed for the country's deepening political crisis, resigned Monday, the Parliament speaker said.

Yusuf, in turn, blamed the international community for not doing more to help bolster Somalia's transitional government, which saw much of the country's control slip into the hands of Islamist rebels, The New York Times reported.

"Most of the country was not in our hands and we had nothing to give our soldiers. The international community has also failed to help us," Yusuf told lawmakers in Baidoa, Somalia's seat of Parliament.

Parliament speaker Adan Mohamed Nur called for unity after Ahmed resigned, Somali television and radio network Shabelle Media Network reported.

"I have received and accepted the resignation letter of President Abdullahi Yusuf Ahmed," Nur said. "I congratulate the president for the bold step he has taken in respect of the transitional federal charter."

Somalia's Parliament has 30 days to elect a new president by secret ballot and the Parliament speaker will be president until a new leader is elected.

Earlier in December, Yusuf tried to oust Somalia's prime minister, but the Parliament refused to accept his decision. Several of the country's neighbors also threatened to impose sanctions on Yusef and his family.

Weekend fighting broke out among factions of Somalia's Islamist community. On Sunday, a militarized Islamist group declared a holy war against the more militant Islamist factions, the Times reported. The group, Ahlu-Sunna Wal-Jama, reportedly killed more than 10 fighters from a rival Islamist faction known as one of Somalia's toughest groups.