Addis Ababa (AX) — Somali Regional State President Mustafe Mohamud Omar has credited Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed with helping transform his region from a place marked by violence and repression into one defined by greater peace, political openness and stability.
In a congratulatory message issued after Abiy was sworn in Monday for a new five-year term, Mustafe said the prime minister had placed Ethiopia on what he described as an “irreversible course of change.” He specifically cited advances in federalism, religious freedom and economic development.
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“The people of Somali Regional State, in particular, have a unique appreciation for and admiration of Abiy Ahmed and his tenure, a time when the region transitioned from being a human-abattoir to a region where its people live in peace and freedom,” Mustafe said.
Mustafe was referring to the years before 2018, when the Somali region was led by Abdi Mohamoud Omar, widely known as Abdi Iley.
Human Rights Watch reported extensive abuses during that period, including torture, rape, arbitrary detention and extrajudicial killings carried out by the regional Liyu police and other security forces. Abdi Iley resigned in August 2018 after political turmoil and violence erupted in Jigjiga.
Mustafe assumed office later that month amid the political transition that followed.
His message also pointed to several nationwide initiatives launched under Abiy, including the Green Legacy tree-planting campaign, urban redevelopment projects, security-sector reforms and efforts to expand agriculture, strengthen food security, develop industry and reduce Ethiopia’s reliance on imports.
The statement came one day after Ethiopia’s House of Peoples’ Representatives appointed Abiy to another term, following the ruling Prosperity Party’s victory in the June 1 general election. He took the oath Monday at the opening of the seventh parliament.
The Prosperity Party won 438 of the lower house’s 547 seats, securing Abiy a commanding parliamentary majority.
Mustafe was himself reelected president of the Somali Regional State on Oct. 1, extending the tenure he began in August 2018. The regional parliament also reappointed Ibrahim Osman Farah as vice president and elected Mubashir Dubad Rage as speaker
Under Mustafe, the regional administration has sought to move away from the previous government’s security-focused model while placing greater emphasis on infrastructure, public services, investment and political stability.
His endorsement of Abiy comes as the prime minister starts a new term under mounting security pressure in other parts of Ethiopia.
Federal forces are once again facing Tigrayan fighters in the north, while armed conflict and political instability persist elsewhere across the country. The renewed violence has revived concerns that Ethiopia could slide back into wider conflict after the 2022 peace agreement brought the two-year Tigray war to an end.
