MOGADISHU, Somalia (AP) – Two days after the violence related to the postponed elections in Somalia, the country’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs has accused “outside forces” of contributing to the problems.
At least five soldiers were killed and more than a dozen people, mostly civilians, were injured Friday in violent protests over the country’s delayed elections.
Somali President Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed is under pressure because elections were to be held on February 8, but no vote took place on that date because there was no agreement on how the polls should be conducted in the Horn of Africa. Some Somalis demand that the president resign.
The State Department blamed a foreign country for making “misinformed and misleading statements that ignore the facts and sometimes appear to support the uprising,” in a statement released Sunday.
While no specific country was named, it was clear that the statement was referring to the United Arab Emirates, which had previously criticized the violence.
“The United Arab Emirates has expressed serious concern about the deteriorating situation in the Somali capital Mogadishu as a result of continued violence and the excessive use of force against civilians,” the UAE statement released on Saturday. Specifically, the UAE statement referred to the government of Somalia as a “interim” government.
Somali Information Minister Osman Dubbe reacted angrily to the UAE statement, saying it was provocative. He said the UAE should apologize.
In a press conference on Sunday, Dubbe claimed that some Somali officials had flown to the UAE, after which they set the conditions for Somalia’s elections, adding to the delay in the polls.
Relations between the UAE and Somalia have deteriorated since DP World, a UAE company, entered into separate agreements with the Somali regional administrations of Somaliland and Puntland without permission from the Somali federal government. In those agreements, DP World agreed to help develop the seaports in the region. The federal government of Somalia does not recognize Somaliland’s claim for independence, while Puntland is a federal member state, therefore the federal government does not like the foreign country concluding agreements with those areas.
The goal of direct elections for one person with one vote in Somalia remains elusive. It was supposed to take place this month, but the federal government and states agreed on a new “indirect election,” with senators and MPs elected by community leaders – representatives of powerful clans – in each state. Members of parliament and senators then elect the president of Somalia.
An alliance of opposition leaders, along with civil society groups, have objected, arguing that it leaves them no control over the politics of their own. And the regional states of Jubbaland and Puntland refused to participate.