Somali new transitional government Thursday midnight celebrated 45th anniversary of the nation's independence in the southern town of Jowhar, with the hope to bring together the whole country after 14 years of civil war.

Hours before the celebration began, residents in Jowhar, where the government will be based until security is restored in the capital, Mogadishu, streamed into the basketball court-turned stadium and waited for the ceremony in high spirit.

"We now have security, and we now have order," shouted one old man to journalists in the venue. "We now live a happier life on our homeland."

"We support fully to the federal government," read one banner on the wall in front of the audience, and another says "Long live July 1, the anniversary of the 45th independent day."

Around 3,000 people, or half of the population of the small southern town of Jowhar, 90 km north of the capital Mogadishu, joined the for celebration, packing the stadium, with many children sat on the ground or stood at the gate.

The Transitional Federal Government (TFG) has been based in the Kenyan capital, Nairobi, for the eight months since its formation, and only began relocating to Somalia on June 13. The entire cabinet has finished moving to Jowhar, with the last batch arriving Thursday afternoon.

Somalia had no functional central authority for the 14 years following the collapse in 1991 of the government of Muhammad Siyad Barre. Civil war erupted in the Horn of Africa state soon after Barre was toppled as various factions and rival warlords fought for power.

The Inter-Governmental Authority on Development, made up of Djibouti, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya, Sudan, Uganda and Somalia, sponsored two years of peace talks between the various Somali clans and factions, culminating in the establishment of the TFG in Nairobi in October 2004.

"Today is the day that Somalia had independence," said 60-year- old local resident Mohamed Mohamud, "and we gather here to celebrate tonight that the north and south finally combine together to form a new central government."

"14 years have been hard for Somali people, because during the war, the country was not secure and stable; the country had no revenue, and people had no income," said Mohamud, "but now, it is different, some places like Jowhar began to have peace, and we expected no violence in other places."

There were groups of traditional singers and dancers on the stage, as well as sections of cross talks among the Somalis, to recount on the cultures and history of the Horn of Africa country.

"We don't want fighting, but we want peace. Let us come together, and reconcile our people," singers sang. "We're building a united Somalia; we're supporting our government."

Somali Prime Minister, Ali Muhammad Gedi, along with other 75 ministers and members of parliament attended the celebration.

At midnight, the celebration culminated in the flag raising ceremony, after which Gedi gave a speech to the audience and the whole country, recalling the heroes that died for the independence and hailed the support of the people for the reunification after 14 years of fighting.

"The new government is a government of reconciliation," said Gedi, noting the government now has a plan of relocating refugees who are in neighboring countries.

He also thanked the international community for supporting Somalia during and after the peace process, and appealed for more support during the country's reconstruction stage.

After the ceremony, people left for home, but many said they don't expect to go to bed soon, for "this is a special day for Somalia, and we will have more celebration at home until later July 1," said Said Rage.

Source: Xinhua