Somali region re-elects former warlord to fight al Shabaab

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By Abdiqani Hassan KISMAYU, Somalia (Reuters) - A former Islamist warlord won re-election on Saturday as president of Somalia's southern region of Jubbaland, a territory partly controlled by al Shabaab militants and at odds with the central government of the Horn of Africa country. Ahmed Madobe was elected for four more years by members of the regional parliament, which has defied a government decision in June to disband it on the grounds it was unrepresentative and dominated by hand-picked members of Madobe's clan. Madobe, leader of the powerful Ras Kamboni militia, has fought against the al Qaeda-linked al Shabaab militants who fully control one of Jubbaland's three regions.




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