BLOGS
Ethiopian military seize power in Somali region following dispute with president Abdi Iley
Smokes seen in some parts of Jigjiga, (Courtesy)
JIGJIGA—The Ethiopian National Defense Force (ENDF) have moved into Jijiga, the capital of the Somali Regional State (SRS) in Ethiopia, and have strategically positioned themselves in key installations after a break down of relations between the Federal Government of Ethiopia and the Somali regional President Abdi Mohamoud Omar.
A military contingent with armoured military vehicles are guarding key regional institutions in Jigjiga including the regional parliament and Ethiopian Somali Television headquarters. This is in front of Qaryaan Dhoodan confernce hall where the regional parliament gathers.
In a Facebook live address, the Speaker of the Somali regional Parliament Mohamed Rashid Isaq confirmed that ENDF troops have seized key installations in Jigjiga but declined to offer an official response as to why.
The situation in Jigjiga is getting tense after rumours circled around that Abdi Iley is gathering the regional parliament to claim that he triggered article 39 and secede the region from Ethiopia.
Somali youth retaliated and burnt several shops belonging to Oromos in the capital, Jigjiga.
“The hostile takeover by the federal troops of our administration headquarters in jigjiga is totally unacceptable” a somali youth told the BBC
The Oromo and Somali of Jigjiga and its surrounding region have intermingled and resided in each other’s territories for centuries.
Sources claim that the Somali region’s President an the Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed had differences concerning a report tabled by the Human Wrights Watch accusing Abdi Omar over torturing political activists.
“I have seen the report. It’s not true; it’s not based on facts,” Idris Ismail Abdi, the information minister for the Somali Region, told VOA’s Somali Service this week.
Hours before HRW published its findings, Ethiopia’s attorney general, Berhanu Tsegaye, announced that prison heads in the country had been fired “for failing to discharge their responsibilities and respect prisoners.
According to HRW, officials have detained thousands of prisoners at Jail Ogaden, most of whom experience routine abuse and neglect. Many of the prisoners have never been convicted of or even charged with a crime.
Regional officials remain mum on the whereabouts of Abdi Mohamoud Omar.
