Ex-militant running for regional presidency held

MOGADISHU: Somalia arrested on Thursday a former militant who seekingelectionasaregionalpresident, sparkingclashesbetweenhissupporters and security forces.

The arrest of Mukhtar Robow in an area where Al Shabaab militants retain a presence after a long civil war heightened tension between Somalia’s central governmentandsemi-autonomousregions where elections are scheduled over the coming months.

The Internal Security Ministry in Mogadishu said its forces had arrested Robowonthesuspicionthathehadbrought militantsandweaponsbacktothesouthern city of Baidoa, the capital of South West region where he is running for president.

The ministry asked Robow to denounce “his ideology of terrorism...and support the federal government of Somalia”.

Robow,aformerprominentalshabaab insurgent and group spokesman, publicly renounced violence and recognised federal authority in August 2017.

Earlier on Thursday, Robow’s spokesman said he was also beaten by Ethiopian troops, who are part of an African Union peacekeeping force in Somalia, in the course of his arrest.

A spokesman for Ethiopia’s foreign ministry said he had no information on any Ethiopian involvement in Robow’s arrest.

Baidoaresidentssaidthearrestsparked off clashes between Baidoa militiamen loyal to Robow and Somali and Ethiopian security forces.

“There are casualties. We see Ethiopian tanksbeingmovedintothetown.nowthere issporadicgunire.tensionisveryhighnow and all shops are closed,” Ahmed Abdullahi, a Baidoa shopkeeper, told Reuters.

Analysts said Robow’s detention would only heighten his standing in South West. “A thoroughly daft move on part of the Ethiopians. They have now made him a martyr, increased his popularity even more,” Rashid Abdi, Horn of Africa Project Director at International Crisis Group, said on Twitter.

The Us-backed Mogadishu government tried to bar Robow’s presidential candidacy in South West, citing remaining US sanctions against him. But the state electoral commission last month dismissed Mogadishu’s demands and accepted his candidacy.

South West will be the irst of Somalia’s seven semi-autonomous regions to hold presidential elections in the coming months, a critical juncture in a growing power struggle between the Us-backed central government and regions where militants retain a presence following a long civil war.