Somalia: incidents in Mogadishu, political crisis worsens
Supporters of opposition candidates march through Mogadishu on February 19, 2021. AFP - -
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A precarious calm reigns in Mogadishu, after several armed incidents since Thursday.
The presidency and the opposition parties accuse each other of having provoked exchanges of fire between their respective security forces, while a march was maintained on Friday despite the ban by the authorities, officially for health reasons.
No casualties have been identified, but the climate is dangerous enough for the United States Embassy and the African Union to issue press releases expressing their concern.
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Shots clacking in the night, a crowd running to escape bullets, checkpoints at street corners ... These are bad memories of the years of anarchy that the inhabitants of Mogadishu rediscovered this Friday, but also of clear signs that the political crisis has worsened further.
Because the cause of the conflict is still there:
the indirect ballot aiming to elect
a successor to Farmajo could not be held on February 8 as planned, despite an agreement signed in September.
And political rivals still do not agree on a resumption of talks.
►
To read also: Can Somalia get out of the institutional blockage?
On the one hand, outgoing president Farmajo
wants to keep the cards in hand
, in the face of repeated calls for resignation.
On the other hand, the opposition candidates, including two former presidents, and the rebellious states of Jubaland and Puntland, no longer recognize its legitimacy and consider that power is vacant.
Under these conditions, the Somali government's international partners are seeking to intervene usefully.
On Friday, the president of the Commission of the African Union warned against "
the risk
" weighing on "
the gains
" garnered by Somalia for ten years.
The American embassy for its part called for an end to the violence and respect for the commitment to reach an agreement so that the presidential election can finally be held.
►
To read also: Somalia: a country with an always uncertain future
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Somalia