Thread by @HarunMaruf

Strange but significant news from Mogadishu as @amisomsomalia is forced to give regional & opposition leaders assurance of security protection ahead of election meeting b/w the leaders on Monday. “AMISOM will guarantee security before, during and after the meeting,” says AU chief

Why is this an issue?
Following the Feb 19 incident when govt forces clashed w the bodyguards of opposition leaders & the subsequent firing on protesters, trust b/w federal & opposition leaders weakened. The govt expressed regret at the incident but it did little to restore trust

This mistrust was more evident when the leaders of two regional states - Puntland and Jubaland arrived in Mogadishu for election talks along with heavily armed guards. For their own safety, these leaders decided to stay within Mogadishu airport which is mainly protected by AMISOM

This was followed by two incidents which occurred on Thursday and Saturday night. First, on Thursday the Govt placed the command of airport police under the Banadir police led by Sadiq John, who opposition figures say is staunch ally of @M_Farmaajo.

The opposition denounced the move to place the 150 police officers at the airport under Sadiq John. The opposition said the move is an effort to daunt successful Summit and poses threat to the international community based at the airport.

The opposition called for the “immediate transition” of security forces from @M_Farmaajo because he is using them for “personal gain”. Placing this unit under Banadir violates structure of the police, because police at ports are independent from regional police, per sources.

As to the second incident - on Saturday a security unit was deployed at a key checkpoint close to the airport, and officers took a tour in the airport, sources say. Regional leaders in the airport felt this was an attempt to, at least, intimidate them, a source says.

The leader of Puntland in an interview alluded that they felt their security compromised by the manoeuvres and deployment in the vicinity of the airport. The unit were removed later on, per source. The Govt denied deploying new or extra units at the airport, per police statement.