Farmaajo to address anxious Somalia public as allies flee his camp
Wednesday April 28 2021
People hold posters of Somalia s President Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed during the protest against him in Mogadishu, Somalia, on April 25, 2021. PHOTO | AFP
Summary
With the decamping of his two main allies, Farmaajo could on Tuesday decide to return to dialogue for an indirect election as demanded by the opposition. Or, he could stay put and create more turmoil.
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Somalia’s President Mohamed Farmaajo was on Tuesday evening expected to deliver a national address, as more of his closest allies fled his camp over a simmering electoral dispute.
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The East African
Tuesday April 27 2021
Somali military forces supporting anti-government opposition leaders in Mogadishu on April 25, 2021. Somalia, recovering from decades of civil war, is facing its worst political crisis in recent years after the failure to hold planned elections in February. PHOTO | AFP
Summary
Following clashes on Sunday in the capital Mogadishu, pitting clan militia groups against soldiers of the federal government, opposition groups under the Council of Presidential candidates were meeting with Western donors, ostensibly to raise complaints against the government.
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Somalia’s key opposition figures were on Monday afternoon holed up in a meeting with the country’s donors even as reports indicated fractures within the national army.
A view of Somalia s capital, Mogadishu, from the sea. Credit: MDart10 / Shutterstock.com
A few days into the New Year, armed Somali intelligence officials were seen escorting guests into three bullet-proof cars at Mogadishu’s Aden Adde International airport. An unusual quiet stretched through the capital’s normally busy main streets as the convoy snaked through cordoned-off roads towards Somalia’s presidential palace.
Local and international media reported that two foreign companies were arriving in Mogadishu to sign a “secret” historic oil deal with the Federal Government of Somalia (FGS), the first agreement of this kind since civil war erupted in the country in 1991. Opposition politicians wrote a letter to the president that warned against the “dangerous agreement” which they said raised concerns over transparency just a month ahead of the country’s first “one person, one vote” election since 1969.
Security officers have been dispatched to Kampi Samaki in Garissa as clashes heat up. [Abdimalik Hajir, Standard]
The police have also launched investigations into claims that some officials from a county government along with former disarmed NPRs were involved in the attack that took place in broad day light.
Lagdera Deputy County Commissioner Philip Koima said the armed men raided Kampi Samaki which lies in the disputed area between Isiolo and Garissa counties.
He said the assailant also torched seven houses as local residents scampered for safety in the neighbouring villages.
Questions have also emerged on how 70 armed individuals could have planned and executed the attack without the knowledge of security officers in the area.