Hassan Sheikh brokers deal in Southwest's political conflict

The federal government pledged to give "necessary support" to avert tensions in the state for stability.

MOGADISHU, Somalia - President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud and Lower House Speaker Sheikh Adan Modobe have collectively managed to strike a deal with local politicians in Southwest following a political crisis which was triggered by the term extension of regional leader Abdiaziz Lafta-Gareen. 

For months, a standoff ensued in the state, threatening to sabotage the ongoing operation against Al-Shabaab militants who control large swathes of rural central and southern Somalia, leading to quick action from the president of the federal government of Somalia.

On Saturday, the two leaders managed to convince Southwest leaders to drop hard political stand for the sake of stability of Somalia, effectively giving Lafta-Gareen, a close associate of former President Mohamed Abdullahi Farmajo, a new lease of life. The conflict had started escalating, Hassan Sheikh noted. 

In the new deal reached in Baidoa, elders were tasked to select regional lawmakers in November and December 2023 and the new presidential polls will be held in January 2024. The federal government pledged to give "necessary support" to avert tensions in the state for stability. 

Hassan Sheikh and his team had landed in Baidoa on Friday night for the second phase of reconciliation talks. In 2018, the state was embroiled in skirmishes after the federal government blocked former Al-Shabaab deputy leader Mukhutar Robow, who is currently the minister for Religious Affairs and Endowment, from running for presidency. 

As the Ethiopian non-ATMIS troops arrested Mukhutar Robow who would go on to serve house detention for three years, the soldiers also killed 11 innocent civilians who were defending his plight. President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud may have been guided by this history, forcing him to rapidly intervene the situation. 

At least ten people were killed in Baidoa on December 23 after Southwest security forces and militia loyal to regional opposition candidates clashed at the home of former federal finance minister Mohamed Adan Ibrahim Fargeti, where opposition-loyal militia gathered. The situation was almost getting out of hands.

GAROWE ONLINE