Islamist rebels in Somalia have set free a newly appointed female cabinet minister after she was seized, a government official said Friday.
Asho Osman Aqiil, who was on Wednesday named as Minister for Women and Family Affairs in the new cabinet line-up of Prime Minister Abdiweli Mohamed Ali's government, was kidnapped from her home by heavily armed fighters from Al Shabaab group in the rebel- controlled town of Balad, 30 km north of the Somali capital Mogadishu.
"They ( Al Shabaab commanders) let her go because she told them that she was not aware of the appointment and that she did not want to take the post," Mowlid Maane, a lawmaker who is from the same Middle Shabelle region as Aqil, told Xinhua.
Maane, who expressed surprise that Aqiil was named minister while she was still in Al Shabaab controlled area, said that she was not harmed and that she was staying at her home in the town where Islamist rebels have been in control of the past three years.
Aqiil, a mother of nine, is reported to have lived in the insurgent-run town for several years. She was travelling to Mogadishu when Islamist rebels seized her near her home.
The Islamist rebel group of Al Shabaab has not commented on the kidnapping of the Somali minister but the group is known to target senior government officials in the past.
Somali Prime Minister Abdiweli Mohamed Ali on Wednesday announced his new 18-member cabinet which mostly comprise of technocrats who have not been known in Somali politics.
The Somali parliament is expected to vote on the cabinet in the next few days.
The new Somali government is expected to face huge challenges as the country is suffering severe drought and famine in the south while battling Islamist insurgency.
The Somali government controls only parts of the capital while Islamist rebels run much of south and center of the war-torn country.
The government has one-year term to fulfill a number of transitional tasks including the drafting of a new constitution for the country to complete the reconciliation process.
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