RIYADH, Saudi Arabia Mar 24 (Garowe Online) - Somalia’s interim Prime Minister, Prof Ali Mohamed Gedi, will represent his country at an Arab Summit scheduled to open in Saudi Arabia next week.

Premier Gedi and a government delegation flew from Mogadishu on Saturday en route to Riyadh, government sources said.

The 19^th Arab Summit, to open Wednesday in Riyadh, will discuss a number of pertinent issues, including the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, the war in Iraq and the ongoing Somali saga.

Diplomatic sources said Gedi will represent President Abdullahi Yusuf at the Summit, citing the President’s preoccupation in efforts to secure volatile Mogadishu.

The Somali Prime Minister’s plane flew from Mogadishu International Airport, despite security concerns following yesterday’s plane crash.

A spokesman for the government of Belarus said on Saturday that the Il-76 plane was downed, “most probably by missile fire.” [ Full story]

Mohamed “Gamodheere” Mohamud, the Somali interior minister, said that the pilot told traffic control moments after take-off that there were engine problems and voiced his desire to return to the airport.

The plane crashed in a town 30km from Mogadishu, killing all 11 people on board. Residents in Kullun-weyn town said the remaining 4 bodies were recovered on Saturday.

Interior Minister Gamodheere said he does not dismiss the possibility of the plane being downed by enemy fire, adding the government dispatched special investigators to the scene.

Source: Garowe Online