Somalia: standoff in Puntland between the authorities and an elite force

Somali soldiers on patrol in Puntland (photo illustration).

AFP PHOTO / Mohamed Abdiwahab

Text by: RFI Follow

1 min

The situation is tense in Bosasso, in the semi-autonomous state of Puntland, Somalia.

The leader of an elite force refuses to surrender his arms after being sacked by the president of the region.

And Tuesday, December 7, a proposal to end the crisis was rejected by the government, raising fears of an armed confrontation.

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The Somali semi-autonomous state government continues to demand that the Puntland Security Forces mutineers, the PSF, and its staff surrender their weapons and property.

This follows the dismissal, on November 24, of their leader, General Mohamud Osman "Diyano", by President

.

However, since that date, the command of this elite independent anti-terrorist unit, founded by the predecessor of the current president to fight against the jihadists, has rejected this order which it considers “

 ”.

Traditional chiefs proposed Tuesday, in return for the recognition of the new PSF command, that the old one can keep his weapons, his vehicles and his property, obtain the payment of salary arrears and armed protection.

But the government immediately rejected this offer.

So it's a dead end for the moment.

Behind this affair looms the rivalry between the president of Puntland and the leader of the PSF, who is the brother of his rival in the presidential election.

But also, according to a Somali military expert, the consequence of the decline in United States support for this force, which was at the origin of its creation after September 11, 2001.

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• Somalia