MOGADISHU (Somaliguardian) – A court in Somalia’s capital, Mogadishu, on Wednesday issued an arrest warrant for Jubaland leader Ahmed Madobe, prompting a swift retaliatory move from Jubaland, which issued a similar warrant for Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud, marking a dramatic escalation in the intensifying political and military standoff.
Courts in both Kismayo and Mogadishu have issued arrest warrants for Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud and Jubaland leader Ahmed Madobe, respectively, accusing them of corruption, constitutional violations, and other crimes, while the politically charged standoff in Jubaland shows no signs of de-escalating, raising fears of an all-out conflict with potentially catastrophic consequences.
The arrest warrant exchange follows a day after a brief clash between Jubaland forces and Somalia’s military in the town of Raskamboni, where the federal government had airlifted thousands of troops in a bid to either oust Jubaland leader Ahmed Madobe following his re-election on Monday or to seize control of all towns under his authority, excluding Kismayo.
Ongoing military mobilizations and rival troop build-ups across the Lower Juba and Gedo regions, coupled with defections among local officials and forces, have raised concerns that the region’s security apparatus could collapse, potentially leaving a power vacuum for the Al-Shabaab insurgent group, which holds significant sway in these areas.
Ethiopian troops have reinforced the military build-up in the Gedo region, deploying fresh forces to border towns in what appears to be a strategic move to bolster Jubaland President Ahmed Madobe in his standoff with the Somali government, amid an ongoing diplomatic dispute between Ethiopia and Somalia over Somaliland’s controversial lease of land along the Red Sea to Addis Ababa for a naval base.
Jubaland officials from the Gedo region were airlifted by helicopter to Godey town in Ethiopia’s Somali region for high-level talks with senior Ethiopian military leaders, aimed at addressing the escalating situation in the region and strategizing on ways to help Jubaland President Ahmed Madobe maintain control over the area.
On Thursday, Somali Prime Minister Hamza Abdi embarked on an urgent trip to Kenya, pressing Kenyan officials to cease their support for Jubaland President Ahmed Madobe and to intensify efforts to isolate him, with the goal of forcing his political and military capitulation in the ongoing campaign against his entrenched rule in Kismayo.
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