Wednesday January 11, 2023
Baidoa (HOL) – Lower House Speaker Sheikh Adan Mohamed Nur Madobe and members of the Southwest opposition groups have agreed to remove pro-opposition militia forces from Baidoa following a meeting in Baidoa on Wednesday.
The opposition groups said they welcomed Madobe’s participation in the reconciliation meeting, which was scheduled for January 5 but was postponed for unknown reasons.
In Baidoa, the Speaker also met with the Southwest state council of traditional elders, civil society members, and security agency officials to discuss the upcoming reconciliation meeting, which official hope will end the political impasse between regional state leaders and the opposition.
According to a well-placed source within the federal government, President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud will not be attending the Baidoa reconciliation conference.
Several media sources, including Hiiraan Online, reported that President Mohamud would attend the conference. However, the source stated that President Mohamud had no plans to travel to the Southwest State capital.
Somali parliament speaker Adan Mohamed Nur Madobe landed in Baidoa on Monday. Madobe is expected to mediate the dispute between Southwest regional President Laftagareen and opposition figures.
The meeting comes weeks after an armed standoff between the two parties in Baidoa left more than ten people dead. The gun battle broke out at the home of former federal finance minister Mohamed Adan Ibrahim Fargeti, where the opposition-loyal militia had gathered.