In what could trigger a political storm between the two levels of government, politicians from Southwest now say the National Army was been used to settle political scores in the state which has traditionally leaned towards the former administration of Mohammed Abdullahi Farmajo.
While addressing the media, the state politicians demanded that the national troops be withdrawn and redirected to the fight against al-Shabaab
...... the Islamic version of the old Somali warlord...murderous Moslems who are still present in several parts of the country. al-Shabaab still controls large swathes of rural central and southern Somalia.
Southwest, they said, has never extended the term of Abdiaziz Lafta-Gareen but the politician only harmonized its lifespan together with that of the president in line with the law. They now blame the federal government for triggering political disharmony in the state.
Reports filed by the police indicate that over 10 people were killed in Baidoa, the regional administrative capital of Southwest following festivities on Friday which were triggered by security forces. Lafta-Gareen has been at loggerheads with various opposition leaders.
Abdiaziz Lafta-Gareen is not a stranger to controversy given that in 2018, troops loyal to Farmajo flushed out the current Religious Affairs and Endowment Minister Mukhtar Robow, the former al-Shabaab deputy leader, who was running for the presidency in the region. The authorities went on to detain him without trial.
Southwest regional state has been struggling to contain both al-Shabaab and political intolerance which now risks ushering instability in the region. Abdiaziz Lafta-Gareen is likely to continue serving following the harmonization of his term.