Somalia is experiencing its worst political crisis in years, with fighting erupting in Mogadishu last week after president Farmajo extended his mandate by two years without going to elections.
Farmajo's rivals, infuriated by the decision, brought loyal security forces into parts of Mogadishu. Farmajo deployed his own loyalists to take back those areas.
Fighting on the capital’s streets was, to many residents, alarmingly reminiscent of the 1990s civil war when rival clans battled street-to-street.
Political experts said that the president’s recent attempt to extend his own term in office amounted to “an illegal attempt to hijack the constitution”.
The president has now asked Prime Minister Mohammed Hussein Roble to oversee the organization of delayed elections in the hope of resolving a protracted feud over elections that sparked violence in the capital.
Opposition fighters remain in the capital even after the President backed away from the mandate extension at the weekend and agreed to hold a fresh vote.
Roble also met with opposition heavyweights to discuss stability in Mogadishu, which has been on a knife's edge since rival factions of the security forces traded gunfire last week, leaving three people dead.
Analysts see the crisis plays straight into Al-Shabaab’s hands. Factions in Somalia’s security forces, including those trained by foreign governments to combat Al-Shabaab, are now facing off against each other.
Not just that – units flooding into Mogadishu in support of political leaders have vacated their positions on front lines, leaving room for Al-Shabaab to move in.
When Farmajo came to power in 2017, many welcomed him as a reformer able to tackle the graft and bridge the divides that had long plagued Somali politics.
Farmajo’s tenure has been marked by bitter disputes, increasingly along clan lines, pitting his government against rivals in the capital Mogadishu and leaders of some of Somalia’s regions.
No comments:
Post a Comment