Somalia Defense Minister Threatens Military Action Against Federal States

Somalia: Defense Minister Threatens Military Action Against Federal States

MOGADISHU — Somalia’s Defence Minister Ahmed Moalim Fiqi has warned that the federal government may resort to military force against federal states that resist national directives, saying the Somali army will assert its authority throughout the country.

Speaking in a recent address, Fiqi took aim at leaders of some federal member states, accusing them of opposing the deployment of national forces and treating the presence of the military as a threat.

“We have reached a point where grown men, leaders of administrations, claim they are being attacked when they see the Somali military. That is a mindset we must move past,” he said, insisting that the army should be accepted in every part of Somalia.

The minister said the Somali National Army has been assigned to protect both the country’s internal and external borders and to confront any group or authority that challenges the federal government.

Fiqi argued that Somalia’s federal system does not give regional administrations the power to bar national forces or sever relations with Mogadishu, warning that such steps weaken the country’s unity.

“The federal system does not mean a regional state can say, ‘No one can enter,’ or that its doors are closed. There is no greater crime than a Somali leader announcing they have cut ties with the Somali government,” he said, adding that the military would intervene if necessary.

The remarks come at a time of rising political friction between the federal government in Mogadishu and several federal member states over constitutional reforms and security arrangements.

They also follow a federal government offensive launched weeks ago against the Southwest State administration, which led to the removal of President Abdiaziz Laftagareen after he opposed President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud’s “one-person, one-vote” election plan.

AXADLETM