BELETWEIN, Somalia May 22 (Garowe Online) - Two men are both claiming to be the "legitimate" governor of Hiran region, in central Somalia.

Yusuf Daboged, the former Hiran governor, has refused to officially hand over his authority to newly-appointed Gov. Mohamed Ahmed Mohamed, who is more popularly known as "Dhagoweyne."

Ex-Hiran Gov. Daboged [left] and Mohamed Dhagoweyne, current governor of Hiran

Both officials are in Beletwein, the provincial capital of Hiran, where both men are claiming they are running the regional government' s day-to-day operations.

Mr. Daboged, himself an Ethiopian-backed former warlord, has accused Gov. Mohamed Dhagoweyne of "surrendering the region" to Islamist-led insurgents.

According to Daboged, four out of the Hiran's five districts are in the hands of anti-government rebels, who have repeatedly attacked government posts and Ethiopian army positions across the region.

But Gov. Mohamed Dhagoweyne has indicated that Mr. Daboged is "refusing" to accept the authority of interim Prime Minister Nur "Adde" Hassan Hussein, who appointed Dhagoweyne as Hiran governor last month.

Daboged has maintained that he is the legitimate governor because he was appointed by Abdullahi Yusuf, president of Somalia's transitional government.

After Mogadishu and Baidoa, the town of Beletwein has the largest concentration of Ethiopian troops deployed in central and southern Somalia.

Source: Garowe Online