Mogadishu Needs Peace
The conflict between the government of President
@HassanSMohamud and opposition forces has no military solution.
Tonight, gunfire is raging near the residences of former President
@HESharifShAhmed and former Prime Minister
@HassanAKhaire. This is unacceptable, and it is the responsibility of
@HassanSMohamud and
@HamzaAbdiBarre to de-escalate.
They must also accept that their term has ended and that they must negotiate with the opposition, just as President Mohamud demanded and secured in 2021/2022 when the mandate of his predecessor, former President
@M_Farmaajo, ended.
The worst thing a man can do is try to impose on others what he himself refused to accept, particularly when it was not long ago and remains fresh in everyone’s mind.
We know that tomorrow, or within a week’s time, Western diplomats in Mogadishu and their capitals will threaten these politicians and their henchmen with sanctions, and suddenly everyone will rediscover the virtues of mediation, compromise, and consensus.
Sadly, that realization will come only after blood has been shed and young Somali boys have died in a conflict that was both unnecessary and avoidable.
The irony is that Somalia has seen this irrationality before.
On 25 April 2021, amid the crisis triggered by the extension of President Farmaajo’s mandate, former President
@HassanSMohamud accused government forces of attacking his residence and warned about the dangers of politicizing security. He declared that Farmaajo was responsible for the consequences. (See the reporting by the Turkish newspaper Daily Sabah.
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dailysabah.com/world/africa/…
Tonight, many of the same accusations are being made by president HSM’s former political peers, who have now become his opponents.
That is precisely why this crisis must be resolved through negotiation, compromise, and consensus before more Somali lives are lost.