IGAD urges Somali government to complete Hiiraan, Middle Shabelle state formation.
Hiiraan elders opposed the conference in Jowhar, the
regional capital of Lower Shabelle region accused Somali president Hassan Sheikh
Mohamud of breaking promises related to their attendance to the talks.
In a statement issued Saturday evening, IGAD Council
of Ministers who held their 55th Extra-Ordinary Session in Addis Ababa also
called Somali government to conclude the on-going dialogue and reconciliation
between the Galmudug Federal State and Ahlu SunnaWal Jamaa (ASWJ).
In addition,
the ministers commended Somali government’s recent decision to fast-track
public financial management reform within the security sector and urged the
swift implementation and international support to the initiative.
"AMISOM’s exit and the IGAD region’s security is
directly linked to the ability of the Federal Government of Somalia to
predictably finance and manage its security forces and institutions.”
The ministers also recommended the establishment of
a Regional Security Co-operation Framework between Somalia and its neighbors
and the establishment of a platform for regular security dialogue and
co-ordination to address common security threats and challenges.
The Al-Qaeda linked Al Shabab group which is
fighting Somali government and the African Union forces in Somalia continues to
carry out attacks across Somalia and beyond.
The group has concentrated Kenya for most of its
attacks in retaliation for Kenyan troops’ deployment in Somalia in 2011, as the
allied forces ousted militants from dozens of towns including the once major
rebel-held port city of Kismayo.
READ THE COMMUNIQUE OF THE 55THEXTRA-ORDINARY
SESSION OF THE IGAD
COUNCIL OF MINISTERS - ADDIS ABABA, ETHIOPIA,
JANUARY 30 - 31, 2016
IGAD urges Somali government to complete Hiiraan, Middle Shabelle state formation.
Foreign ministers of the East African bloc IGAD have called for the Somali government to rapidly conclude the remaining Hiraan and Middle Shabelle state formation process despite boycott by Hiiiraan elders.