MOGADISHU (Somaliguardian) – The presidents of Somalia’s semi-autonomous regions of Jubaland and Puntland are expected to meet in Nairobi this week for high-stakes talks aimed at forming a new political alliance to counter President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud, whose recent coalition-building efforts have reshaped the federal political landscape.
Puntland President Saeed Abdullahi Deni departed the northern port city of Bosaso on Tuesday for Addis Ababa and is scheduled to arrive in the Kenyan capital in the coming days. Jubaland’s leader, Ahmed Mohamed Islam, known as Madobe, is already in Nairobi where he has held consultations with foreign diplomats, Kenyan officials, and Somali federal lawmakers.
The Nairobi meeting marks a significant political recalibration. Despite a public fallout following President Mohamud’s return to power in 2022 — when Madobe aligned with Mogadishu against Deni in a bitter federal dispute — the two leaders are now seeking to revive their alliance amid what they describe as systematic marginalization by Villa Somalia.
In Jubaland, the Somali Ministry of Interior has initiated plans to install a parallel administration, aiming to oust Madobe from power. Meanwhile, in Puntland, the federal government has intensified efforts to bolster the influence of Police chief Asad Osman Diyano, who maintains strong family ties to the Puntland Security Force (PSF), an elite counter-terrorism unit long seen as semi-autonomous from the central Puntland leadership.
Rising tensions have sparked concerns in northern Galkayo, where pro-Diyano forces and Deni-loyal troops have made competing military deployments, raising fears of armed confrontation.
The opposition to President Mohamud comes as his administration pushes ahead with a contentious one-person, one-vote electoral framework — a project many regional actors and political stakeholders claim is unrealistic due to persistent insecurity and the presence of Al-Shabaab militants across large swathes of the country.
With less than a year left in Mohamud’s term, opposition blocs are mobilizing rapidly in response to his newly-formed political alliance, which includes influential regional leaders.
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