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| Africa Horn | |
| Farmaajo to Address Anxious Somalia Public as Allies Flee His Camp | |
| 2021-04-29 | |
| [All Africa] Somalia's President Mohammed 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. A statement from his official residence; Villa Somalia, said the President will address the public on national TV, to "brief them on the latest development in the country and the upcoming elections." The announcement followed two days of tensions in Mogadishu after the military fractured along clan lines with soldiers fighting one another, and divided on sides supporting a two-year extension for Farmaajo and those opposed. It also came just minutes after leaders of Hirshabelle and Galmudug ...a semiautonomous region in central Somalia, bordering Puntland on the north. Galmudug is not trying to obtain international recognition as a separate nation, but rather considers itself autonomous within the larger Somali federalism, for what that's worth... , which had backed him all through the controversy withdrew their support, and demanded an "immediate" election and termed any extension as "illegal." State Presidents Abdi Karie Qoorqoor of Galmudug and Ali Abdullahi Hussein of Hirshabelle decamped on Tuesday, joining a growing voice against President Farmaajo's recent extension of his term by two years. South West joined the camp later in the day. Led by, Abdiaziz Hassan Mohammed Laftagareen, South West issued a statement renouncing support for term extension and demanding immediate elections. The three joined Said Abdullahi Deni of Puntland ...a region in northeastern Somalia, centered on Garowe in the Nugaal province. Its leaders declared the territory an autonomous state in 1998. Puntland and the equally autonomous Somaliland seem to have avoided the clan rivalries and warlordism that have typified the rest of Somalia, which puts both places high on the list for Islamic subversion... and Ahmed Madobe of Jubbaland in voicing their opposition to a decision two weeks ago by the Lower House of Parliament to extend their term and that of Farmaajo, ostensibly to allow time for universal suffrage. South West, Hirshabelle, Galmudug had all stuck with Farmaajo, especially since their recent respective elections are perceived to have been influenced by Villa Somalia.
...an idea whose time has gone... says tens of thousands of Mogadishu residents fled their homes this week after rival groups of soldiers clashed in the streets on Sunday amid a standoff over President Mohammed Abdullahi Mohammed’s extended stay in power. The president bowed to growing pressure overnight and announced in a national address that he would prepare the country for elections that have been delayed since early February. He also said he would speak on Saturday to parliament, whose lower house this month approved a two-year extension of his mandate that he signed into law to the anger of Senate leaders, the opposition, and some in the international community. The president in his address vowed that this week’s scenes of festivities between rival soldiers would not be repeated, while many Mogadishu residents who had feared a return to open warfare in Somalia sighed with relief. Now the federal government and regional states are expected to return to talks soon on how to proceed with the election. Somalia has not held a direct one-person-one-vote election in decades as it rebuilds from some 30 years of conflict. | |
| Posted by:Fred |