Mogadishu Mayor Rejects Former Somali President’s Call for Demonstrations

[Deeq A.]

The Mayor of Mogadishu, Hassan Mohamed Hussein (Muungaab), speaking at Karaan District Town Hall, stated that the former Somali President has no authority either to call for public demonstrations or to designate locations in Mogadishu where such gatherings may take place.

Mogadishu (PP News Desk) — The Federal Government of Somalia has put in place measures to prevent al-Shabaab from exploiting the controversial demonstrations called for by a wing of the Council of Salvation led by former Somali President Sharif Sheikh Ahmed. Sharif claimed that the planned demonstrations are aimed at challenging “land-grabbing by the government and the unlawful arrest of citizens”. A Somali Federal MP, Mohamed Ali Omar (Aananuug), who is allied with the Council of Salvation, said that “Al-Shabaab spokesman Ali Dheere has shown more empathy towards people displaced by the government”. Calls to bring him before the Parliamentary Ethics Committee are growing.

“The vigilant style of incitement by the opposition endangers peace; it must project as issue-oriented. The portrayal of a terrorist (Ali Dheere) who murdered thousands of civilians as empathetic towards Mogadishu residents by the opposition is beyond rational behaviour – and now this…” Abdirizak Mohamed, an MP and the former Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources of the Federal Government of Somalia, tweeted about the Warta Nabadda Police Station incident.

On Wednesday, Sharif and other members of the Council of Salvation, escorted by armed civilians, visited the Warta Nabadda Police Station in Mogadishu to secure the release of people detained by the police for alleged crimes. The security detail of Sharif opened fire at the police station gate and resulted in the escape of many suspects.

The Mayor of Mogadishu, Hassan Mohamed Hussein (Muungaab), in a speech at Karaan District Town Hall, said that the former Somali President cannot call for popular demonstrations, nor can he designate areas in Mogadishu where demonstrations can be staged. The former Prime Minister of Somalia, Ali Mohamed Geeddi, accused the wing of the Council of Salvation of masterminding the attack on Warta Nabadda Police Station. “They were staying in a house near the police station before the attack. They were under surveillance,” he said.The Federal Security Minister yesterday issued guidelines discussed in an emergency meeting of the Council of Ministers to prevent the destabilisation of Mogadishu by “elements behind the attack on Warta Nabadda Police Station.”

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