Somalia Neighbours Question Federal Government’s Legitimacy, Scale Back Ties

MOGADISHU, Somalia — Some of Somalia’s neighboring countries have begun downgrading diplomatic engagement with the country’s federal government, increasingly describing it as an administration whose mandate has expired and which lacks a broadly agreed political legitimacy, according to regional officials and diplomatic sources.

The growing unease comes amid deepening political disagreements in Somalia over delayed elections and the absence of consensus between the federal government and opposition groups on the country’s electoral framework.

Several countries in the Horn of Africa region have recently expressed concern that Somalia’s political instability could negatively affect regional security, officials familiar with the discussions said. Some governments have also shared concerns with Western partners over what they described as the need to contain the fallout from Somalia’s prolonged political uncertainty.

Diplomatic meetings held in Washington between some regional foreign ministers and U.S. officials reportedly included discussions about the conduct and direction of Somalia’s federal leadership, according to sources briefed on the talks.

Thousands of troops from neighboring countries remain deployed inside Somalia under two separate arrangements: bilateral security cooperation agreements with Somalia and the African Union peace support mission aimed at combating the extremist group al-Shabab.

Analysts say any broader regional move to formally treat Somalia’s federal administration as a caretaker government could deal a significant diplomatic blow to Mogadishu. Being publicly portrayed in international forums as a government whose term has expired and which lacks a political settlement could further weaken confidence in Somalia’s state institutions and complicate international engagement.

Somalia’s federal government has not publicly responded to the reported diplomatic concerns from neighboring states.

GAROWE ONLINE