Somalia: Jubaland official arrested in Gedo, flown to Mogadishu by Federal soldiers

MOGADISHU, Somalia - A former top Jubaland official was on Monday arrested in Gedo region, reports indicate, in yet another dramatic incident that diminishes hopes of getting long-lasting solutions between regional administrators and those in federal government.

Iman Adow Karshe, the former Garbaharey District Commissioner, was arrested and subsequently jailed in an operation which was spearheaded by the Somali National Army [SNA], who were recently deployed to the region, sources said.

After the unprecedented arrest, the regional official was flown to Mogadishu by top army officers and National Intelligence Security Agency [NISA] operatives, but it's not yet clear where he was taken to for detention.

Few days before his apprehension, sources told Garowe Online, the federal government relieved him off his duties after a dispute. However, it's not yet clear why he was dragged into the dispute even as President Mohamed Abdullahi Farmajo continued to infiltrate Jubaland, a traditional opposition stronghold.

But some confidential sources intimate that the former official "refused" to attend the official handing over ceremony for the new District Commissioner, Hassan Sheikh IImi, which was conducted on Monday within Gedo.

"I believe it's just the antagonism by the federal government. They don't want dissidents and are doing all they can to intimidate them. It's a sad state of affairs but we have to live with it," a regional official said in confidence, adding, "his crime was boycotting the ceremony to coronate new leadership".

The federal government has been cracking a whip on "defiant" local officials who are seen as being "friendly" to the administration of Sheikh Ahmed Islam Mohamed Madobe, who has been at loggerheads with Farmajo in as many months now.

As one of the strategy to "infiltrate" Jubaland, Farmajo has sacked or arrested those deemed "unfriendly" to his regime, with Gedo, where most of you clansmen reside, being used as the battlefield for his onslaught.

In Kismayo, Jubaland authorities termed Karshe's arrest as "gross violation" of human rights and demanded that the administration "releases him immediately to avoid further escalation of this crisis". Mogadishu, they added, "must act within the limits of the law all the time".

Kismayo also termed his arrest as "outright abduction" and asked the international partners to chip in and help to deescalate the wrangles which heightened after the re-election of Sheikh Ahmed Madobe in August 2019.

Within just a span of two days, the federal government has cracked a whip on Jubaland officials albeit with impunity, although it has remained mum about the actions which could attract retribution from stakeholders in Somalia's quest for unity.

For instance, two senators from the state were blocked from boarding a Kismayo-bound plane where they were set to attend the burial of Jubaland education minister, reported indicated. The two have since sued NISA chief Fahad Yasin.

On Monday, Jubaland Vice President Mohamud Sayid Aden accused the federal government of allegedly blocking a plane carrying medical supplies to Kismayo from taking off. The reports could not be independently verified by Garowe Online.

But at Gedo, SNA troops have clashed twice with regional Jubaland troops at Balad-Hawo town, further raising concerns about possible Al-Shabaab resurgence in the region. The troops are keen to take control in the region.

What's more puzzling is the fact that SNA troops enjoy support from the Ethiopian National Defense Forces while the Jubaland troops work closely with KDF. Both two foreign forces are part of AMISOM forces in Somalia.

A fortnight ago, Madobe signed a unity deal with three of his main competitors in Nairobi, a move which pundits say would "neutralise" Farmajo's advances in the state, which has battled to keep Al-Shabaab at bay for several years now.

Karshe's arrest comes barely two months after Abdirashid Janaan, Jubaland's security minister, escaped from Mogadishu prison after five months of arbitrary detention. The minister, who federal government accuse of "committing" crimes, has been the epicenter of Farmajo's feud with Madobe.

GAROWE ONLINE