SOMALIA’S PM, MARINE COMMANDER SUSPENDED
Somalia’s president suspended the country’s prime minister and marine forces commander Monday, a sharp escalation in a political dispute that threatens to further destabilize the troubled nation on the Horn of Africa.
President Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed suspended Prime Minister Mohamed Hussein Roble over allegations of corruption and misuse of public land. Mohamed’s office had earlier accused Roble of “posing a serious threat to the electoral process” and carrying out activities that were in violation of his mandate.
Roble refused to accept the order and accused Mohamed of deploying troops to attack his office and those of the Cabinet to prevent them from carrying out their duties. The moves, he said in a televised address, were “a blatant attempt to overthrow the government, the constitution and the laws of the land.”
On Monday, foreign governments and international observers expressed concern that the dispute could set off yet another cycle of violence in a nation battered by decades of fighting.
The simmering political impasse blew into open violence in the streets in April, after Mohamed signed a law extending his term in office by two years. Opponents of Mohamed, a former U.S. citizen and bureaucrat, along with his Western allies denounced the move, with many Somalis worrying that it could reverse the modest democratic gains the country has achieved after decades of civil war.
The showdown eventually led Mohamed to ask Parliament to nullify the extension and request that Roble help organize the delayed elections.
Calling Mohamed “the former president,” the premier Monday instructed armed forces to report directly to his office and promised to take action against anyone who defied those orders. He also said Mohamed, whose mandate technically lapsed in February, intended to disrupt the elections so “he can illegally remain in office.”