The latest confrontation puts the popular new constitution at risk, adding to the woe caused by Addis’s port deal with Somaliland, Regional President Said Abdullahi Dani has taken Puntland out of Somalia s federal system, sparking a political crisis that weakens national unity and threatens the devolution painstakingly constructed over the last 12 years.
A once-in-a-century deluge halted troops movements while the President went on a world tour to raise funds, President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud has November s unprecedentedly severe rains and floods to thank for the fact he has not paid the full political price for the setback government forces suffered against Al Shabaab at Osweyne in October. Critics say Mogadishu squandered a military advantage over the Islamist militia, and had to pull out of towns in Galgadug that had previously been captured at high cost.
Despite marked successes in its war against Al Shabaab, the government s campaign has been weakened by the regional authorities competing priorities, While the combined offensives against Al Shabaab in Hirshabelle and Galmudug have been drawing attention, the Federal Member States (FMS) and the Somali Federal Government (SFG) gathered for a National Consultative Meeting in Baydhabo on 14 March to take stock of its counter insurgency campaign.
The anti-Al Shabaab offensive has the wind in its sails, but maintaining its momentum presents the President with deep problems, The humanitarian situation will remain dire in 2023. Any rains that do come cannot restore an already devastated ecosystem and emergency aid to the starving will still be hampered by military operations in rural areas and terror attacks by Al Shabaab in the urban centres north of Mogadishu. Only Somaliland and Puntland can rely with confidence on obtaining food aid.