Somalia: Defense Minister Threatens Military Action Against Federal States

MOGADISHU — Somalia’s Defence Minister Ahmed Moalim Fiqi warned that the federal government could use military force against the Federal States opposing national plans, saying the army would extend its authority across all parts of the country.

In remarks delivered during a recent address, Fiqi criticised leaders of some federal member states for what he described as hostility toward the deployment of national forces.

“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, adding that the army’s presence should be welcomed across Somalia.

The minister said the Somali National Army had been tasked with securing both internal and external borders and taking action against any group or authority challenging the federal government.

Fiqi argued that Somalia’s federal system does not grant regional administrations the right to block national forces or cut ties with Mogadishu, warning that such moves undermine national 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 comments come amid heightened political tensions between the federal government in Mogadishu and several federal member states over constitutional reforms and security arrangements.

His remarks come weeks after the federal government launched an offensive against the Southwest State administration, ousting President Abdiaziz Laftagareen, who had opposed President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud’s "one-person, one-vote" election plan.

GAROWE ONLINE