Somali President Mohamed Farmajo addressed the parliament in Mogadishu, Somalia, on May 1, 2021. (Xinhua/Hassan Bashi)
The Chairperson of the African Union Commission, Moussa Faki Mahamat, has expressed concern over the ongoing political tension in Somalia, urging the nation's president and prime minister for continued engagements and dialogue.
ADDIS ABABA, Dec. 31 (Xinhua) -- The Chairperson of the African Union (AU) Commission, Moussa Faki Mahamat, on Thursday expressed concern over the ongoing political tension in Somalia.
The chairperson "is following with deep concern the serious current political tension in Somalia," an AU statement read.
Mahamat called for utmost restraint as he emphasized continued engagements and dialogue between the country's president and prime minister in order to find a political solution to this present situation.
"The African Union recommits to scale up its support toward durable peace and stable polity in Somalia," the chairperson said.
Amid the growing political tensions in the Horn of Africa country, Somali President Mohamed Farmajo on Monday suspended Prime Minister Mohamed Roble over corruption allegations.
Farmajo accused Roble of being involved in corruption and misuse of public lands in a statement, which came a day after he accused Roble of failing to steer the electoral process to a successful conclusion.
Analysts say the current political rift between the two top leaders will again delay the electoral process slated to conclude by early 2022. Parliamentary elections which began on Nov. 1 have already been suspended after only 24 out of 275 lawmakers have been elected.
The country's electoral body had set Dec. 24 as the deadline for the completion of the parliamentary elections. ■
