somalilandpress
Africa
LAS ANOD — Fighting has erupted in a disputed town in central Somalia between two pro-government militias, with Ahlu Sunna militia claiming a strategic victory in its offensive against rebels loyal to TFG member.
Witnesses in the town of Abudwaq in Galgudud region told Somalilandpress the fighting began on Saturday night after militia loyal to Ahlu Sunna attacked forces led by Somali parliament member Abdifatah.
They added the offensive displaced hundreds, cut off communication services and is threatening to spread. They said more than five were killed and further fifteen injured from both sides. The town is currently under the control of the Sufi Ahlu Sunna group. The clerics imposed an overnight curfew in the town.
The Sufi group, often regarded as pro-government, accused the member of Parliament of destabilizing the town. They issued him a verbal warning to halt all activities but he refused to comply. Ahlu Sunna now says all government (TFG) members require permits to enter any territory under their control. They requested that all government members leave the town immediately.
Regional analyst warn the current conflict between the two pro-government militia could widen and disrupt the fragile treaty between the weak TFG and the Sufi militant. Ahlu Sunna now controls much of central Somalia and wants to establish its own semi-autonomous region similar to the dozens already active in the failed state.
The conflict in Abudwaq comes days after the semi-autonomous region of Puntland declared an open war on Gal-Mudug, another semi-autonomous in Somalia’s central region. Puntland leaders accused them of destabilizing the region in particular the border town of Galkayo. Garowe said Galmudug kidnapped a ten year old boy and assassinated countless others. Galmudug administration ignored the accusations and went about its business.
Meanwhile Somali intellectuals in the Somali capital urged the TFG to arrest the leader of Puntland, Abdirahman Farole, insisting that he was undermining the country’s leadership and derailing the peace process. They said it was not his responsibility to implement the proposed peace plan but it was up to to the national leadership including the UN-backed parliament in Mogadishu. They dismissed that the up coming meeting which will implement a political plan agreed in September known as the roadmap be held in Garowe, the capital of Puntland. They argued Mogadishu was the capital and the right venue for such dialogue. The weak Transitional Federal Government (TFG) in Mogadishu and the Garowe administration have been at odds in recent times over a number of issues including aid money and foreign investment. The current conflict in central Somalia and the political infighting in Mogadishu will add more headache to the struggling TFG as it tries to tackle the country’s numerous problems.
Somalia has not had a functioning government since the ouster of one-time dictator Mohamed Siad Bare in 1991.
Somalilandpress
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