Somalia’s Lower House building was taken over my AMISOM troops after a standoff between members of parliament of opposite sides in the standoff on a vote of no confidence against speaker Mohamed Jawari.
AMISOM stepped in by mid-morning after it emerged the House could not conduct business as only a handful of MPs made way into the House while majority remained outside after concerns of a security breach as both sides claimed some members had gone inside the building with their guns contrary to security procedures.
AMISOM troops were seen escorting House Speaker Mohamed Osman Jawari and the 2nd Deputy Speaker Mahad Awad from the Parliament building after a raucous session nearly ended in armed confrontation. Jawari and Awad met with Brigadier Paul Lokech, who heads the Ugandan contingent of AMISOM and a handful of MPs in Villa Hargeisa for a meeting on security.
Additionally, dozens of Somali forces were arrested following the disruption of the House session and are being investigated both the AU team and the country’s Army. Political tensions are said to be very high in Somalia especially between the legislature and executive locking horns.
AMISOM has urged the opposing side to put their country first seeing as the war on al Shabaab is futile if the country lacks the necessary capabilities to be stable and maintain a sense of normalcy.
