MOGADISHU (Somaliguardian) – Somalia’s parliament is planning to move to a high-security base outside Mogadishu airport, just days after a mortar round landed on its headquarters, leaving a number of people, including staff and soldiers wounded.
Interim speaker Abdisalan Liban Dhaban’ad reportedly accepted a proposal by some MPs to relocate upcoming parliament sessions to the heavily fortified Afisyoni camp in Halane base, which is close to several foreign diplomatic missions, including those of the US, UK and the UN.
The base is manned by African Union peacekeepers and MPs believe that the area is relatively safe, though two Al-Shabaab militants forced their way into the camp last month, killing a number of foreign nationals.
Opposition MPs told local media that mortar shells which struck parliament on Monday had been fired from a short distance, raising suspicion that it was an inside job and pointed finger at President Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed, whose allies allegedly protested efforts to expedite upcoming polls. Al-Shabaab claimed responsibility for the assault.
Parliamentarians allied with the President are against the proposal, deeming it a plan aimed at tarnishing his image and exposing failure of his administration to deal with ever-growing attacks by insurgents.
Afisyoni camp itself had come under mortar shelling on Thursday, shortly before MPs gathered for a swearing-in ceremony attended by the Premier, opposition leaders and other well-known politicians.
Contact us: info@somaliguardian.com
