Somalia’s President berates Djibouti for arresting its safety adviser | World information

By Mitchel On Sep 17, 2021

MOGADISHU (Reuters) – Somalia’s President Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed on Friday accused neighboring Djibouti of illegally detaining its national security adviser, a criticism apparently linked to a destabilizing argument between the president and his prime minister.

The Djiboutian authorities detained adviser Fahad Yasin and prevented him from flying to Mogadishu, presidency communications director Abdirashid Hashi said without giving further details.

“Such actions will not help strengthen our relationships between our governments,” Hashi said in a statement.

Djibouti’s foreign minister denied reports of meddling in Somalia without naming a person.

“We will continue to support our brothers and sisters in Somalia, but we will never interfere in their internal affairs,” wrote Mahmoud Ali Youssouf on Twitter.

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Yasin was suspended from his post as director of the National Intelligence Service Agency (NISA) last week by Prime Minister Mohammed Hussein Roble. The president then stepped in and appointed someone other than Roble’s election to head NISA and gave Yasin a job as his security advisor.

The dispute between Mohamed and Roble, nominally over a murder investigation, marks an escalation in months of tension between them in a country torn by militant attacks and clan rivalries.

“His (Yasin’s) presence is quite polarizing. So if he’s back in Mogadishu it will be a blessing for Mohamed and a problem for Roble’s side,” said Mahmood Omar, Somalia analyst at the International Crisis Group, a Brussels-based think – -tanks, said Reuters.

Mohamed didn’t get on well with the Djibouti government, Omar said after hugging Eritrea and Ethiopia and leaving Djibouti in isolation.

“Djibouti has not been happy with the Mohamed government for a while, so it is no surprise that they are doing something, intentionally or unintentionally, that harms Mohamed,” he said.

Mohamed and Roble clashed for the first time in April when the president unilaterally extended his four-year term by two years, leading to army factions loyal to men taking up rival positions in the capital, Mogadishu.

The confrontation was resolved when President Roble put security in charge and organized delayed parliamentary and presidential elections. This process should be completed next month but was postponed again last week.

Roble has accused Mohamed of “obstructing an effective investigation” in the case of Ikran Tahlil Farah, a NISA agent who went missing while working in the agency’s cybersecurity division.

Farah’s family have said they were murdered while the agency did not comment on the case.

(Reporting by Abdi Sheikh and Abdiqani Hassan, letter by Duncan Miriri, editing by William Maclean)