Somali MPs have elected Hassan Sheikh Mohamud as the country's new president, in the latest step to end decades of war.

The academic beat President Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmed in a run-off poll by 190 to 79 votes, officials said.

No candidate secured the required two-thirds majority in the first round of voting, conducted by secret ballot.

It is the first time for years that a president has been chosen on Somali soil, a sign of improving security.

However, the al-Qaeda linked group al-Shabab still controls many southern and central parts of the country, and has staged frequent suicide attacks in the capital since it was driven out of Mogadishu last year by African Union troops and pro-government forces.

Outgoing Somali President Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmed conceded defeat during a live broadcast on national TV, saying he was "satisfied" with the results of the "just elections".

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