Somali PM discusses political situation with U.S. official

It was the latest in a long-running row between the two men over delayed legislative and presidential elections. The dispute is widely seen as distracting the government from concentrating on fighting an Islamist insurgency by the al Qaeda-allied al Shabaab group.

Somali Prime Minister Mohamed Hussein Roble spoke by telephone with a senior U.S. official about the political situation in his country, a government spokesman said on Wednesday, amid an escalating row between Roble and the president.

Troops loyal to the prime minister camped in an area near the presidential palace on Tuesday, raising tension in the capital, Mogadishu. Mohamed Ibrahim Moalimuu, federal government spokesman and senior adviser to Roble, said on Twitter the prime minister spoke to Molly Phee, U.S. assistant secretary of state for African affairs, about "the political situation in Somalia, security, and elections".

President Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed on Monday suspended the prime minister for suspected corruption, a move the prime minister denounced as a coup attempt. It was the latest in a long-running row between the two men over delayed legislative and presidential elections.

The dispute is widely seen as distracting the government from concentrating on fighting an Islamist insurgency by the al-Qaeda-allied al Shabaab group.

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