Somali warlord Mohamed Farah Aidid, declared by his allies as the country's president earlier this month, has been appointing dozens of "ministers" to a Cabinet.
The number has now swollen to 34, with 38 deputies, after the latest appointment, announced by his supporters Sunday, of Elmi Abdullahi "Yool" as Development of the Environment Minister."Yool" is a nickname meaning bald in Somali slang, a reference to Yul Brynner - once a popular movie star here.
Aidid controls little of Somalia outside districts of south Mogadishu and his home in the arid central region.
He apparently saw no irony in appointing a tourism minister in a country abandoned by thousands of heavily armed United Nations peacekeepers in March after a failed two-year mission to restore order. Dozens of foreigners and hundreds of Somalis were killed during the U.N. operation.
Murder and mayhem have continued unabated since. Sunday, a 36-year-old man was shot in the head as he tried vainly to stop four gunmen gang-raping his wife. City residents are hunting the gunmen, promising to exact "traditional justice."
Aidid's Cabinet has a telecommunications portfolio. The state phone system was completely looted and exported for scrap when Somalia spiraled into anarchy four years ago.
The 60-year-old warlord, who led fighting against U.S.-led multinational forces in 1993, has been appointing ministers to reflect dozens of different clan groups, Somalis say.
But they point out his Cabinet is still dominated by Aidid's own Habre Gedir clan.
His government has been bitterly rejected by his rivals, including Ali Mahdi Mohamed, who controls an enclave of streets in north Mogadishu and has since 1991 declared he is president.
Ali Mahdi's own 1991 Cabinet had more than 80 ministers and deputy ministers.
Despite the two "governments," the country remains in the control of petty warlords ruling over ethnic fiefdoms.