Political tension in Somalia: an agreement reached between the president and the prime minister

Somali President Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed, known as Farmajo.

Yasuyoshi CHIBA AFP / File

Text by: RFI Follow

2 min

In Somalia, this could be the epilogue of a political crisis that has destabilized the executive power in recent months: President Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed, aka Farmajo, and his Prime Minister Mohammed Hussein Roble have reached an agreement to resolve their differences.

Thursday's compromise should allow the country to calmly conclude a presidential election that is crucial for the future of the country.

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The two men

saw each other in the evening, one-on-one, at the headquarters of the Somali presidency in Mogadishu, Villa Somalia.

They had already seen each other the day before, also in the evening, without any press release being published after their first interview in weeks.

But this time, their reconciliation is official. In a press statement, a spokesperson for the presidency detailed the agreement between the two heads of the executive. The Minister of Internal Security Abdullahi Mohamed Nour, appointed by the Prime Minister, remains in his post. As is the director of intelligence services Yassin Farah, appointed by the president. A temporary situation until the designation of a successor.

It was the fate of the investigation into the mysterious disappearance of Ikran Tahlil Farah, a young intelligence agent, in June, which had caused the rift between the two men. The Prime Minister had rejected the internal investigation of information accusing the Shebab jihadists and sacked its director, while the family of the victim openly accused the hierarchy of Ikran Tahlil Farah, who would have been protected by the presidency. This sensitive issue will be dealt with by the civil courts, and not a commission of inquiry as ordered by the Prime Minister or by military justice as wished by the president.

After weeks of tension and threats, this compromise clears the political scene, while

a new president is underway, several weeks late.

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• Somalia

• Mohamed Abdullahi Farmajo