Farmaajo's war crimes against Somalis

Somalia's incumbent president Mohamed Abdullah Farmajo remains in office beyond the end of his term on Feb. 8 and has been allegedly involved in attacks on protesters and presidential candidates, making him ineligible to be part of any realistic future political solution for Somalia.

This was reflected in the letter sent by 15 Somali presidential candidates to U.N. Security Council, which plans to hold a meeting on the issue on Feb. 22. The candidates also requested the U.N. Security Council to set up a transitional council government.

On Feb. 19 Somali presidential candidates and opposition alliance parties planned to hold a major demonstration against what they see as the illegitimate rule of Farmajo.

On the night before the protests, however, the hotel where two former Somali presidents were staying came under heavy fire, an attack former Prime Minister Hassan Khaire described as an assassination attempt and former President Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmed said was carried out by government forces.

The attack resulted in the death of several of the former presidents’ bodyguards, who successfully stopped the assault after a 30-minute firefight.

The next morning when the demonstration started, it too came under attack, with former PM Khaire pointing the finger at Farmajo-allied paramilitary units for firing live bullets on peaceful demonstrators led by him and other opposition leaders.

According to unconfirmed reports, more than 20 people were killed in the attacks and doctors and medical personnel were reportedly prevented from attending to or evacuating the injured, who later died.

The Farmajo regime then embarked on a coordinated disinformation campaign, with Hassan Hundubey Jimale, the Somali minister of internal security, issuing a statement blaming the opposition and peaceful protesters for inciting the violence.

Farmajo has stacked key ministries, military positions, and diplomatic missions with his own people to retain his hold on power. He is betting on his clan militia, Turkish-trained forces, and the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) to cling to power beyond his term.