Southwest President Abdiaziz Hassan Mohamed Laftagareen and state opposition leaders have agreed to attend a peace summit in Baidoa on January 5.
Sheikh Adan Mohamed Noor Madobe, Somalia’s Lower House Speaker, received opposition candidates and other political figures at his residence on Saturday. President Laftagareen was not at the Speaker’s house because he was remained in Mogadishu after the National Consultative Council (NCC) meeting.
Speaker Adan Madobe expressed sadness for the December 23rd violent riots in Baido, which killed at least ten people. Madobe expressed hope that the conflicting factions will be able to settle their key issues at the upcoming reconciliation summit.
The gun battle erupted at the residence of former federal finance minister Mohamed Adan Ibrahim Fargeti, where opposition-loyal militia had gathered.
Fargeti, on the other hand, stated during a press conference in Mogadishu that state security personnel attacked his home in Baidoa.
Southwest President Abdiaziz Laftagareen and the opposition candidates are now locked in a political impasse over the validity of his term extension.
Southwest parliament extended President Abdiaziz Laftagaren’s term by one year in 2019, increasing his mandate expiration date to December 19, 2023. However, the president’s term extension was rejected by the opposition.
A group of Southwest regional state lawmakers blamed the federal government for last week’s riots in Baidoa. They alleged that the federal government’s forces were being armed in the Southwest and asked that they be redirected to the frontlines.