Prime Minister Mohamed Hussein Roble's office said that as well as suspending Foreign Minister Abdisaid Muse Ali over the authorization of a ship exporting charcoal to Oman in violation of international sanctions, he had ordered an audit and judicial investigation into the ministry's actions.
The U.N. Security Council banned such shipments a decade ago to cut funding for the Islamist militant group al Shabaab, an al Qaeda franchise fighting Somalia's central government.
The status of the shipment was unclear.
Ali could not be reached and foreign ministry spokespeople did not respond to Reuters' requests for comment.
