Hundreds of Somalis rallied in support of Prime Minister Ali Mohamed Gedi on Monday after he survived a confidence vote that narrowly averted the collapse of his fragile interim government.
Shouting his name and carrying placards reading: "Long live Gedi's government", crowds of supporters marched in Baidoa, the provincial seat of the administration.
Gedi's opponents fell short of the two-thirds majority they needed to censure him on Sunday, in a heated vote in which some lawmakers threw punches and wrestled on the floor.
"I don't think it was wise to vote out the government. Even if it's powerless, it's the only one we have," said trainee mason Mohamed Abdulkadir. The Western-backed government, formed in 2004, is the 14th attempt at central rule in Somalia, which plunged into chaos in 1991 after dictator Mohamed Siad Barre was ousted by warlords.
US Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs Jendayi Frazer said on Monday the international community should help Somalia's interim government set up a defence force to keep out neighbours meddling in its growing crisis.
"We as a matter of urgency need to consider the request for some type of force to come in and train up those transitional federal institutions. That's the best way to keep out these more immediate neighbours," she told Reuters in an interview.