Kismayo, The attempts by the Ethiopian forces which further escalate the political temperatures in Kismayo and brings to the fore the regional fight for Jubaland comes a week after Jubaland President Sheikh Ahmed Islam Madobe turned down a plea for talks by a delegation of senior Ethiopian military and intelligence officials reportedly at the behest of the Federal Government.
Today’s development shifts focus from the local tussle to the one fought by Kenya and Ethiopia both which have a 50 year defence cooperation. Nairobi is rooting for the incumbent Ahmed Madobe as Addis which had hitherto presented itself as an arbiter in the region is backing the Somali Federal Government.
According to jubaland officials the failed entry of the Ethiopian forces into Kismayo today comes barely hours after the Jubaland Independent Boundaries and Elections Commission told the UN it would now proceed to conduct the presidential elections despite concerns by the UN office in Mogadishu.
Jubaland Independent Boundaries and Elections Commission Chairman Dr. Hamza Barre said the poll body had incorporated all recommendations by the International Community and adhered to the state and Provisional Constitutions and was set to conduct the exercise. Dr. Barre accused UNSOM head James Swan of ‘misrepresentation of views’ and called for an ‘apology to the people of Jubbaland’.