As part of a broader cabinet reshuffle, Somalia’s Prime Minister Hamza Abdi Barre on Monday appointed a new defence minister.
Barre replaced his defence minister with the Minister of Commerce and Industry Jibril Abdirashid Hajion.
The appointments included new ministers of ports, trade, transport and sport, the office of the Prime Minister said in a statement.
It gave no further details.
In recent weeks government forces and their allies have been struggling to contain an offensive by al Qaeda-linked al Shabaab militants bent on toppling the government and establishing their own rule based on a strict interpretation of Islamic law.
