Thursday September 19, 2024
Mogadishu (HOL) – A Somali People's Assembly member, Sareedo Mohamed Abdulle, accused the Somali Intelligence Agency of preventing her and other MPs from travelling to Baidoa on Thursday.
"People who don't know the law prevented me from boarding the plane this morning. MPs from the Southwest are being targeted, and from now on, we will enter the airport with our guns," Abdulle told the media.
MP Saadaq Abdullahi echoed her concerns, calling the travel restriction an illegal violation and accusing the Presidential Palace of being behind the ban on Southwest MPs.
The restriction comes amid worsening relations between Mogadishu and the Southwest regional administration.
Reports suggest that the leader of Southwest state has summoned MPs loyal to his administration for consultations in Baidoa to address the ongoing political conflict between the federal government and the regional administration.
However, several parliamentarians opposing the regional president claim that the consultation is being organized to benefit foreign interests and accuse President Lafta Gareen of preventing dissenting MPs from travelling to Baidoa, where they were elected.