MOGADISHU, Somalia — Former Somali President Mohamed Abdullahi Farmaajo on Sunday strongly condemned a sweeping government security crackdown on opposition figures, warning that the administration is steering the country into a dangerous phase of institutional breakdown, according to a joint press conference and reports from Shabelle Media Network.
Speaking alongside former President Sharif Sheikh Ahmed at a joint press briefing in the capital, Farmaajo accused the federal government of using state security apparatuses and counter-terrorism resources to target political rivals and raid the residences of former officials, according to Horseed Media. The former head of state asserted that the political crisis has degraded into a severe security challenge because President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud’s administration failed to build consensus over the national electoral framework, according to Shabelle Media Network.
The high-level condemnation follows a weekend of intensive house-to-house weapons searches by federal police units in the Abdiaziz district, an opposition stronghold where frontline positions were recently vacated after two days of lethal gun battles and mortar exchanges, according to reports by Al Jazeera and Hiiraan Online. The underlying urban hostilities erupted after opposition coalitions organized demonstrations to protest parliament’s decision to extend Mohamud’s presidential tenure by an additional year beyond its official May 15 expiration, according to reports from Citizen Digital and the BBC.
During his address, Farmaajo cautioned that the ongoing operations risk fracturing the domestic armed forces along traditional clan lines, according to ChimpReports. He specifically highlighted that current actions targeting or adjusting senior military commanders compromise the structural integrity of the command-and-control system at a time when national unity is required, according to Shabelle Media Network.
Villa Somalia has continuously defended its legislative adjustments and police measures as necessary steps to preserve public safety and guarantee a transition toward a direct, universal suffrage voting model, according to Al Jazeera. However, Farmaajo rejected the executive rationale, declaring that the current administration cannot hold the country by force and must immediately return to comprehensive political dialogue with all stakeholders, according to reports by Citizen Digital.
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