Mogadishu — Somali federal government officials and members of the opposition Future Council have reportedly reached an understanding on key issues concerning national security, elections and political trust following a meeting in Mogadishu on Wednesday evening.
The two sides reportedly agreed to avoid politicising national security matters and to work together in the fight against armed groups, including Al-Shabaab and Islamic State (ISIL). They also agreed that Somalia's next elections should be based on political consensus and an agreement acceptable to all sides, rather than unilateral decisions.
The meeting brought together senior security and judicial officials from the federal government, including National Intelligence and Security Agency (NISA) Director Mahad Mohamed Salad, Police Commissioner Brigadier General Asad Abdullahi Osman, Somali National Army Chief General Ibrahim Mohamed and Military Court Chairman Colonel Hassan Ali Nur (Shuute).
The Future Council delegation included former President Sharif Sheikh Ahmed, former prime ministers Hassan Ali Khaire and Mohamed Hussein Roble, opposition politician Abdirahman Abdishakur Warsame, lawmaker Abdullahi Arab and Mohamed Aden Koofi.
The discussions also focused on rebuilding political trust and strengthening cooperation to create conditions for further dialogue and agreement on national issues.
The meeting comes amid growing political efforts to resolve disagreements over Somalia's electoral process and security arrangements, with the future of the country's elections remaining a major point of contention between the government and opposition groups.
AllAfrica publishes around 600 reports a day from more than 90 news organizations and over 500 other institutions and individuals, representing a diversity of positions on every topic. We publish news and views ranging from vigorous opponents of governments to government publications and spokespersons. Publishers named above each report are responsible for their own content, which AllAfrica does not have the legal right to edit or correct.
Articles and commentaries that identify allAfrica.com as the publisher are produced or commissioned by AllAfrica. To address comments or complaints, please Contact us.
AllAfrica is a voice of, by and about Africa - aggregating, producing and distributing 600 news and information items daily from over 90 African news organizations and our own reporters to an African and global public. We operate from Cape Town, Dakar, Abuja, Johannesburg, Nairobi and Washington DC.
To complete the process, please follow the instructions in the email we just sent you.
There was a problem processing your submission. Please try again later.