SOMALI PRESIDENT U-TURNS

…as he calls for elections in bid to ease tensions

MOGADISHU - Somalia’s President Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed yesterday called for elections and a return to dialogue after the extension of his mandate by two years sparked the country’s worst political violence in years.

The president, best known by his nickname Farmaajo, addressed the nation at around 01 hours after hours of anticipation, with Mogadishu on a knife’s edge as government troops and pro-opposition soldiers beefed up their positions and civilians fled their homes.

The rival sides exchanged gunfire on Sunday in an eruption of long-simmering tensions sparked by the delay of February and Farmaajo’s of his mandate month.

The president said he would appear before parliament on Saturday to “gain their endorsement for the electoral process,” calling on political actors to hold “urgent discussions” on how to conduct the vote.

“As we have repeatedly stated, we have always been ready to implement timely and peaceful elections in the country,” he said.

Tensions have been rising in Somalia since Farmaajo’s four-year term lapsed in February, as he and leaders of Puntland and Jubaland, two of Somalia’s five semi-autonomous states, failed to agree on elections extension earlier this how to conduct elections.

A deal had been cobbled together in September, which later collapsed, and multiple rounds of UN-backed talks failed to broker a way forward.

The international community has repeatedly called for elections to go ahead, threatening sanctions.

The collapse of Siad Barre’s military regime in 1991 led to decades of civil war and lawlessness fuelled by clan conflicts.

Farmaajo’s speech came after his Prime Minister Mohamed Hussein Roble - and leaders of the two key states which have backed him, Galmudug and Hirshabelle - on Tuesday rejected the extension of his mandate and called for elections to be held.

Since the fighting on Sunday, both sides have built up their presence in the capital, terrifying citizens weary of decades of civil conflict and an Islamist insurgency. – AFP.