MOGADISHU, September 24, 2007 - A deep political row has erupted at the highest levels of Somalia's transitional government, already bogged down in a protracted struggle against a deadly insurgency, officials said on Sunday.

Somalia's attorney general, Abdullahi Dahir, was sacked Friday by the cabinet for ordering the arrest of the supreme court's chairman and one of its judges, judicial sources said.

Prime Minister Ali Mohamed Gedi's government deemed the arrests illegal but Dahir -- who has refused to leave his post -- says supreme court chief Yusuf Ali Haru and judge Mohamed Nur should face corruption charges.

"The step taken by the cabinet to dismiss me is illegal and will derail the judicial process in the country. I will not accept the dismissal," Dahir told reporters in the capital Sunday.

Some observers said Dahir is backed by President Abdullahi Yusuf Ahmed and argued the incident highlighted a rift at the highest level of the ailing transitional administration, which has achieved little in three years of existence.

"There is a hopeless disagreement between the top government officials," said deputy parliament speaker Mohamed Omar Dalha.

"Something will go wrong if we do not take quick steps to solve this problem. We must not wait until the matter turns into armed conflict," Dalha told parliament in the southern town of Baidoa.

"You know the cabinet has sacked the attorney general, who has in turn rejected the dismissal, and the head of the supreme court is in jail. So as lawmakers, we must stand up and see that we address the root of the political disorder," he added.

Former powerful Mogadishu warlord Mohamed Qanyare Afrah warned that the standoff should be swiftly resolved or risk sparking fresh clan unrest in the war-ravaged Horn of Africa nation.

"This could lead to a great political disaster in the country. What we can do is to stand up with justice, not favouring anybody so that we can put this disagreement behind us," said Afrah, also a lawmaker.

Clan rivalries have fueled seemingly endless and bloody power struggles in Somalia since the nation acquired its independence in 1960.

Conflict flared after the 1991 ouster of former dictator Mohamed Siad Barre. Since then, Somalia has had no central authority and defied dozens of initiatives to restore stability.

President Yusuf, a former president of the self-declared northern state of Puntland, is a former warlord from the Darod clan, one of Somalia's two biggest clans.

Prime Minister Gedi is from the other major clan, the Hawiye, which is dominant in Mogadishu. His government last year suffered mass resignations which forced him to reshuffle his cabinet.

Source: AFP