Mogadishu- After the Somali Ministry of Foreign Affairs recalled its ambassador to Somalia, Abdirahman Sheikh Isse, the Somali embassy in Rome, Italy, has been rocked by controversy.
The foreign ministry appointed Ahmed Abdirahman Sheikh Nur as Charges d’Affaires, but the ambassador objected, claiming that the new interim appointee should come from within the embassy.
Ahmed Abdirahman Sheikh Nur, the former Charge d’Affaires at the Somalia Embassy in Lusaka, arrived from Mogadishu at the end of March to take over the embassy.
“Every time I am on vacation, the embassy’s work is managed by an acting embassy representative, and if a new deputy is to be chosen, he or she must be an embassy employee.” said Ambassador Abdirahman Sheikh Isse.
Ahmed Abdirahman Sheikh Nur and two members of his entourage, according to the Issa, entered the diplomatic building. After that, they refused to let the ambassador and his employees into the building.
According to sources, the three members are inside the embassy, and Ambassador Abdirahman Sheikh Isse plans to summon Italian security personnel to intervene on Tuesday.
On April 6, the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation released a memo confirming Somalia’s intention to recall the ambassador and stating that Ahmed Abdirahman Sheikh Nur will be provided the requisite identity.
Ambassador Abdirahman Sheikh Isse had been summoned for internal deliberations, according to a statement from Somalia’s foreign ministry on March 28.