UN Council urges conflicting Somali leaders to resolve dispute

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UNITED NATIONS (PA) – The UN Security Council on Saturday urged the leaders of the conflicting Somali government to resolve their disagreements through dialogue and to give top priority to holding long-delayed national elections this year.

The most powerful body of the UN also urged the federal government and regional states “to ensure that any political differences do not distract from united action against al-Shabab and other militant groups.”

The press release approved by the 15 council members follows emergency consultations on Friday on the deepening political crisis in Somalia, which has raised regional and international concerns that the elections could be threatened and the region of East Africa could face further destabilization.

The council meeting followed President Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed’s statement on Thursday that he had suspended Prime Minister Mohammed Hussein Roble’s power to hire and fire civil servants, the latest move in their increasingly divisive relationship .

In the statement, council members expressed their “deep concern over the continuing disagreement within the Somali government and the negative impact on the timing and electoral process.”

They urged all parties “to exercise restraint and stressed the importance of maintaining peace, security and stability in Somalia”.

Three decades of chaos, from warlords to al-Shabab affiliated with al-Qaida and the emergence of an Islamic State-linked group tore apart the country which in recent years has started trying to rebuild and find its place.

Pressure on President Mohamed to hold elections has intensified since elections scheduled for February 8 failed due to lack of agreement on how the vote should be conducted.

Talks between the federal government and regional leaders that began in March broke down in early April. At the president’s request, the lower house of parliament then passed a special law that extended the tenure of current mandate holders by two years and abandoned a September 17, 2020 deal on indirect elections, reverting instead to a no one, one voice. model.

These decisions sparked widespread opposition, leading to the mobilization of militias, revealing divisions within the Somali security forces and leading to violent clashes on April 25.

After the clashes, on May 1, President Mohamed called on the lower house of parliament to reverse its actions, including extending his term by two years.

He also called on lawmakers to support the deal the federal government reached with regional states on September 17 on how to vote, and he called on Prime Minister Roble to lead election preparations and elections. associated security measures. This led to an agreement on May 27 to hold indirect elections this year.

The Security Council statement “urged all parties to resolve their differences through dialogue for the sake of Somalia and to prioritize the peaceful conduct of transparent, credible and inclusive elections within the agreed timeframe and in accordance with the agreements. September 17 and May 27 “.

British Ambassador to the UN Barbara Woodward, who on Friday called for a closed-door briefing by UN Special Envoy James Swan, expressed deep concern over “growing tensions between the Prime Minister Minister and President ”.

She said it was clear from Swan’s briefing that shuttle diplomacy was underway in an attempt to resolve differences between the president and the prime minister.

“But the point is, and we have also made it clear, that this is a very dangerous distraction from the main task of moving forward with the elections,” she said. declared. “The risks for the Somali people, the risks of giving more space to Al-Shabab are indeed very high. We therefore want to get out of this situation as quickly as possible and resolve it. “

UN spokesman Stéphane Dujarric said on Friday that with Somalis marking the first anniversary of the September 17 agreement, the UN and its international partners are also “increasingly alarmed that the escalation of dispute between the president and the prime minister will undermine the stability of Somalia and derail the electoral process.

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