The United Nations Security Council (UNSC) has warned that the current pollical impasse being witnessed in Somalia risks derailing the ongoing fight against the Al-Qaeda affiliated Al-Shabaab that has persistently waged attacks in that country for close to two decades.
In the past two weeks, there have emerged sharp differences with the country’s top leadership. The outgoing President Mohamed Abdullahi Farmaajo and Prime Minister Mohamed Hussein have been engaged in wrangle differing on changes within the security sector.
The intrigues began when PM Roble sacked the country’s intelligence chief (NISA), Fahad Yasin following the death of Ikran Tahlil, a junior employee within the National Intelligence Security Agency. PM Roble replaced Yasin with Lt. General Bashir. However, Farmaajo, in a statement, wrote in support of Yasin, further protracting the crisis.
A number of people including those with the Union of Presidential Candidates backing PM’s move of sacking the NISA boss. They also lauded the decision, arguing that it was the beginning of the restoration of NISA’s reputation. The agency has been a center of controversy under the leadership of Fahad Yasin.
The sharp differences have escalated with President Farmajo even going to extent of suspending the powers of the PM Roble, but the PM dismissed the move as “unconstitutional” and decided to stay put, saying he is going nowhere. The war-torn country is now in limbo, with both political factions wrangling on the control of the government.
In a lengthy statement, the UNSC called on FGS and FMS to quickly find a solution to the political differences witnessed so that they do not scuttle the efforts of battling the Islamists Al-Shabaab. According to UNSC, it is even more worrying to see the country’s security forces take sides instead of focusing on the real enemy and the fight against the militants.
Al-Shabaab will continue to exploit such unfolding events to wage more attacks citing the forces could have divided attention. The Al-Qaeda associated forces has been terrorizing innocent civilians, security forces, and even senior government officials, killing thousands in the process. The international community has been instrumental in mitigating the terrorism risks in the Horn of Africa nation.
