The Speaker Sheikh Aden Madobe said he had called on the country's president to form a new government. A member of the parliament secretariat who did not want to be identified confirmed the vote's outcome.

"280 voted against the government, 30 in favour and eight remained silent. Therefore we will request President Sheikh Sharif to form a government urgently," Madobe told Reuters by telephone.

The BBC said African Union peacekeepers intervened.

But events remained unclear, as some parliamentarians contradicted the speaker and said the vote never took place, and they would in fact be voting shortly on Madobe's own position.
"We did not give him the opportunity to hold the vote of no confidence. Every MP was shouting at him, telling him 'you are not the speaker'," lawmaker Sheikh Ahmed Yusuf told Reuters.

Some analysts said the no confidence vote, if real, was unlikely to be taken seriously by President Sheikh Sharif Ahmed whose administration is fighting a war against Islamic militants and exerts very little central power.

Parliamentary business has been paralysed this year, with many legislators living in Kenya, Europe and America because of security fears. The chamber has also been split by a bitter feud over the term of the chamber's speaker and his competence.

Some experts said any vote of no confidence vote could be a ploy by Madobe and his backers to help him cling to his position. The speaker is among the most powerful political figures in a country plagued by violence for nearly two decades.