Southwest Region’s Leader Applauds Federal MPs for Their Backing of Pro-Ethiopian Troop Demonstrations

Baidoa (AX) — Abdiaziz Hassan Mohamed Laftagareen, the leader of the Southwest region, expressed his approval on Monday for the federal lawmakers from the area who stood firm in their support for demonstrations advocating for Ethiopian military presence in the Bay and Bakool regions. During his remarks in Baidoa, Laftagareen likened the backing of these 25 parliamentarians to the spirit of the 13-SYL youth initiative.

“These MPs are ambassadors of the people and representatives of the state within the parliament; they are not merely acting on behalf of their clans. This nation operates under a federal system,” Laftagareen asserted, underscoring the necessity for solidarity among Somali citizens.

He took a stand against those in Mogadishu who criticized the Southwest lawmakers, including a politician and a notable elder, for their endorsement of Ethiopian troops stationed in Somalia. “For true Somali unity to emerge, it must begin in the Southwest; any dissenting voices from Mogadishu only tarnish that unity,” he declared.

Recent tensions have flared between the federal lawmakers hailing from the Hawiye clan—specifically those elected from Galmudug and Banadir—and their peers from the Southwest region. This discord heightened when a Hawiye clan elder issued threats of violence against Southwest MPs advocating for the Ethiopian forces’ continued presence.

Last week, a series of demonstrations unfolded in Hudur and Berdale districts of Southwest State, aligning with the scheduled withdrawal of Ethiopian forces, set to occur by December 2024, coinciding with the expiration of the ATMIS mission.

The leadership of the Somali Lower House has since intervened to ease the political strife between these factions. Meanwhile, relations between Somalia and Ethiopia have recently soured, particularly since Ethiopia ratified a contentious Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Somaliland, giving it access to the latter’s Red Sea coast—an agreement that Somalia views as an infringement on its sovereignty.