The ousted Hiraan Governor Ali Jeyte Osman unilaterally declares the region an independent Somali state

18 (EUROPA PRESS)

The dismissed governor of the Somali region of Hiraan, Ali Jeyte Osman, announced this Sunday his separation from the state of Hirshabelle and its constitution as a new state within the country’s federal structure after denouncing tensions over the division of powers with the administration of the one that has been disassociated, for the moment without giving more details.

“As of today, the Hiraan region leaves the administration of Hirshabelle,” declared the dismissed governor, in an appearance collected by the Hiraan On Line portal, a few hours after his dismissal from office late this past Saturday. by order of the president of Hirshabelle, Ali Gudlawe Hussein, as reported at first by the US international broadcaster Voice of America.

Hirshabelle, it should be noted, is a state entity made up of two regions, Middle Shabelle and Hiraan itself, by virtue of the constitutional precept that allows the association of at least two regions of the country to form a state, as occurred in this case in October 2016, after a difficult process that had significant opposition in the populations of both parties.

Osman’s dismissal was announced in a brief statement that did not indicate the reasons for the dismissal, although sources close to the president of Hirshabelle point to the Caasimada portal on the need to “speed up certain administrative tasks in Hiraan” as well as “unite the community to apply the laws of the country and the Constitution”.

In contrast, former state president Mohamed Abdi Ware accused his successor Gudlawe Hussein of having received money from the jihadist group Al Shabaab in exchange for dismissing Osman, whose figure has been a key figure during the first months of the “total war”. against the terrorist organization.

In this sense, and according to sources from Hiraan on Line, the dismissed governor had declared in recent months his deep disagreement with a plan by the Hirshabelle administration for a proposal to centralize tax collection in his region.

Specifically, Ali Osman had declared himself particularly concerned that this proposal would end up hindering the war against Al Shabaab by reallocating crucial resources against the organization.

In his speech this Sunday, the former governor has limited himself to alluding to the long tensions between the two regions before announcing that the declaration takes immediate effect. “Anyone who mentions the name ‘Hirshabelle’ here from now on will not come back,” added the dismissed governor, who has also decided to temporarily close the region’s airspace, according to the speech collected by Dalsan TV.

The situation right now in Hiraan is tensely calm: after the dismissal of the governor, the local Mawisley militias, related to the dismissed official and also key in the fight against Al Shabaab, have blocked the main accesses to Beledweyne, the capital of the region, in protest.