Somalia: Southwest leader fires minister and governor amid rift

BAIDOA, Somalia - Southwest State president, Sharif Hassan Sheikh Aden has sacked his state minister for the presidency and the governor of the southern Lower Shabelle region amid rift, Garowe Online reports.

The decision was announced through a presidential decree released on 20th May 2018, without disclosing reasons behind the dismissals, but, sources say the move came following political face-off.

The state Minister for Presidency, Mohamed Abdullahi Mursal, who has been in office since 2015 was relieved of his deputy and replaced with the immediate former governor Ibrahim Aden Ali [Najah].

Ali would be taking the office with the effect of the appointment date, according to the statement. Southwest is one of the five Somali Federal Member States in Somalia.

The state leader appointed Mohamed Ibrahim Bare as the new governor of the agriculture-rich Lower Shabelle region, which is now believed to be a hotbed of the Al Qaeda-linked militant group Al-Shabab.

Bare took the oath of office during a handover ceremony held in the port city of Marka, the region's capital on Sunday with the presence of high-level regional officials.

In his remarks at the event, the new governor pledged to enhance the security of the volatile region beset by long-running inter-clan clashes and Al-Shabab attacks.

GAROWE ONLINE