by Abdi Sheikh and Feisal Omar
MOGADISCIO (Reuters) – Somali President Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed on Monday announced that he had suspended Prime Minister Mohammed Hussein Roble from his post due to a corruption probe targeting the latter, an escalation of tensions at the top of power in link with the failures of the electoral process.
The head of state, nicknamed Farmajo, accused his head of government of illegally seizing land belonging to the military and obstructing a defense ministry investigation. The other ministers continue to exercise their functions, he said.
The prime minister said hours later that the suspension was unconstitutional and was only intended to derail the ongoing electoral process. He called on all security forces to take orders only from him and not from the president.
“The measures taken by former President Mohamed Abdullahi Farmajo are an attempted coup against the government and the national constitution,” Roble said in a statement posted on the Facebook page of the official SONNA news agency.
The Somali president and prime minister had already accused each other on Sunday of obstructing the electoral process.
The full results of the legislative elections, which began on November 1 and were due to end on Saturday, have still not been formalized.
The dispute between the two main leaders of the country is perceived by many observers as a threat to the fight against the insurgency of the Islamists of al-Shabaab.
The US and UK embassies on Monday called on both sides to de-escalate and avoid violence.
In April, Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed unilaterally decided to extend his own presidential term by two years, theoretically limited to four years. The factions loyal to both leaders then seized positions in the capital.
(Report Abdi Sheikh and Feisal Omar; French version Jean Terzian, Jean-Stéphane Brosse and Dina Kartit, edited by Marc Angrand)
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