Somalia: Roadside bombing kills a minimum of 13 after presidential talks break down

At least 13 members of Somalia’s safety forces had been killed on Sunday in a roadside bombing assault, shortly after emergency talks between Somalia’s politicians failed to finish a stalemate over how you can choose a brand new president.
The bomb hit a convoy belonging to regional intelligence models of the Galmudug state, senior army official General Masud Mohamud mentioned. The convoy had been touring close to the city of Dhusamareeb, which had hosted talks over Somalia’s delayed election.
Talks ended with out a conclusion on Saturday, simply days earlier than the time period of President Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed was set to run out.
“We are getting terrible reports that 13 security men are all killed in the blast which destroyed their vehicle in the Galmudug province,” mentioned Mohamud.
Among these killed was a senior regional intelligence officer. The Islamist terror group Al-Shabaab claimed duty for the assault on its Andalus radio station. The group has ramped up assaults within the Galmudug state in central Somalia because the nation’s leaders gathered in Dhusamareeb, north of the capital Mogadishu.
Somalia more likely to miss voting deadline
Somalia is more likely to miss a February 8 deadline to decide on a brand new head of state, after a number of days of negotiations between the central authorities and federal states broke down.
Without a decision, the breakdown in talks might create a constitutional disaster in nation that’s already confronting a violent Islamist insurgency and widespread meals shortages.
Mohamed flew again to the capital, Mogadishu, with out a deal on the staffing of regional electoral commissions, Osman Dube, the data minister, mentioned late on Friday.
Lawmakers ‘refused to resolve issues’
“No agreement was reached,” mentioned Dube. “The government offered to negotiate and settle all the disputed issues, but some brothers have failed to understand, and refused to resolve the issues.”
“The government has shown flexibility to compromise, gentleness and readiness to negotiate, but some leaders tried to exploit that openness to seek more. That will not work,” he added.
Mohamed, who’s presently looking for a second time period in workplace, later informed lawmakers that there was nonetheless another likelihood for a deal, with out providing additional particulars. “If it fails again, then the decision [on the way forward] will be for the parliament,” he mentioned.
Another spherical of talks doable
The president is predicted to announce one other spherical of talks at a joint sitting of parliament on Saturday. He reached an settlement with the leaders of Somalia’s 5 semi-autonomous areas in September, to carry parliamentary and presidential elections in late 2020 and early 2021.
However, the deal broke down after lawmakers couldn’t agree on how you can conduct the election course of.
Somalia earlier aimed to carry its first direct election since 1969, however opted as an alternative for an oblique voting system the place particular delegates chosen by clan elders choose the nation’s lawmakers, who in flip select the president.
However, even underneath that system, regional authorities in a minimum of two of Somalia’s 5 federal states, Puntland and Jubbaland, opposed holding the election.