AU, IGAD Urge Calm as Mogadishu Descends into Chaos over Presidential Term Extension

Fighting erupted in Mogadishu on Wednesday between Somali government security forces and opposition-allied militia over a decision to extend the term of President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud by one year.

In March, the Somali MPs voted to change the four-year terms of the presidency and parliament to five years. Media reports quoted the Speaker of the House of the People, Sheikh Adan Mohamed Nur, as stating that the extension would apply to incumbent office holders, thereby extending the mandates of the federal parliament and the president by one year beyond their previously scheduled expiry dates of 14 April and 15 May, respectively, and postponing the next elections accordingly.

On 8 March, Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud signed these amendments into law, completing the constitutional review process and finalizing the constitution.

The move has sparked outrage among the opposition, who see it as Hassan Sheikh’s plan to centralize power. The government has rejected these allegations.)

The Somali Future Council, an opposition coalition comprising the leaders of Puntland and Jubaland, and other opposition figures, as well as former presidents Sheikh Sharif Ahmed and Mohamed Abdullahi Farmajo criticized the amendments, citing a lack of political consensus and warning that they risk further deepening political polarization in Somalia’s already fragile political environment.

Somalia has not held a direct election for national leadership in six decades, with leadership since 2012 being selected indirectly through negotiations involving clan leaders and the political elite.

The Associated Press reported this week that there was a large number of people in the streets of Mogadishu and a heavy security presence with police patrolling. Police said the violence came from “organized attacks” and linked it to political groups trying to secure power.

Gunshots and explosions were heard in several neighborhoods in Mogadishu with residents telling AP: “We heard heavy weapons fire, and people were fleeing their homes.”

Former PM Hassan Ali Khaire, who said he has been targeted by security forces, stated on X that the government is utilizing  “heavy weaponry” made for “conventional battlefield operations.”

“These are weapons entrusted to the Somali state to fight Al-Shabaab, now turned against Somalia’s own leaders and citizens in an unprecedented campaign of political repression and targeted killing,” he wrote.

Backed by Turkish and Egyptian military support, Hassan Sheikh has been engaged in intense clashes with states in what appears to be a bid to centralize power and undercut states’ self-sufficiency.

Following the adoption of the constitutional amendments, authorities of the South West state suspended relations with Mogadishu, becoming the third federal member state to do so after Puntland and Jubaland.

The move followed the regional parliament’s re-election of President Abdiaziz Hassan Mohamed (Laftagareen) under the state’s constitutional framework, a process that the federal government refused to recognise. The dispute subsequently triggered armed clashes between federal and state forces, culminating in federal forces taking control of Baidoa, the administrative capital of South-West state. Laftagareen subsequently resigned, after which the FGS appointed Ahmed Mohamed Hussein, the state’s former finance minister, as interim president.

The current scenario is similar to what took place in 2021, when former president Abdullahi Farmajo’s attempt to extend his term triggered mutiny within the armed forces along clan lines, dividing the capital into hostile sectoral forces. At that time, the crisis was defused through intense international diplomatic interventions. Hassan Sheikh Mohamud, who was part of the opposition at the time, is now in the same position as Farmajo.

The AU stated it is “deeply concerned” and called on all parties to “immediately stop the fighting and exercise maximum restraint, protect civilians and refrain from actions that could further escalate tensions.”

IGAD condemned “all acts of violence” and called on all parties in Somalia to immediately exercise maximum restraint, de-escalate tensions and resolve their differences through peaceful, inclusive and constructive dialogue.

“At this critical moment, preserving peace, stability, national unity and the gains made in Somalia’s state-building efforts is of paramount importance,” reads a statement quoting IGAD Executive Secretary Workneh Gebeyehu.

The United Nations and the US embassy in Mogadishu have also issued statements condemning the violence, urging maximum restraint, and calling for an immediate de-escalation of armed tensions to protect the country’s fragile stability.

Amidst the crisis, the UN Security Council (UNSC) is expected to hold a private meeting on the African Union Support and Stabilization Mission in Somalia (AUSSOM), which has been hobbled by budgetary constraint

Source:thereporterethiopia.com/