Ethiopian army takes over Somali region security

TUESDAY AUGUST 7 2018

Ousted Ethiopian Somali region president Abdi Mohamoud Omar.

Ethiopian Somali region president Abdi Mohamoud Omar, commonly known as Abdi Illey,
stepped down under pressure on August 6, 2018. PHOTO | BBC

In Summary
Heavy fighting over the weekend left an unknown number of civilians dead and
thousands displaced.
Regional president Abdi Illey ousted and arrested.
The Patriarch of the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church, Abune Mathias, told state-
affiliated Fana Broadcasting that seven churches were set ablaze and priests killed
in the attacks.
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By ANDUALEM SISAY
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Ethiopian army has taken over the security of the volatile eastern Somali region
after heavy fighting over the weekend left an unknown number of civilians dead and
thousands displaced.

The region's president Abdi Mohamoud Omar, commonly known as Abdi Illey, was forced
to resign on Monday and replaced by his finance minister Mr Ahmed Abdi Mohammed.

According to state-owned ESTV website, Mr Abdi was arrested and flown to the
capital Addis Ababa on Tuesday.

"Officials from the Somali region in Ethiopia have confirmed to us reports of the
arrest of Abdi Mohamoud Omar,� ESTV reported.

Mr Abdi was seen arriving at the Bole International Airport aboard a yellow
military helicopter. He was not handcuffed.

Following uprisings in the region, the army and the federal police were ordered to
enter the region to maintain peace at the invitation of the Somali Regional
Council, the government said.

The deployment led to standoff between the federal forces and the region's
paramilitary Liyu police and sparked protests by residents in the regional capital
Jigjiga and Dire Dawa. It is reported that dozens of people died.

Property was also looted including banks and businesses as well as targeted
killings of non-Somalis, according to AFP.

The Patriarch of the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church, Abune Mathias, told state-
affiliated Fana Broadcasting that seven churches were set ablaze and priests killed
in the attacks.

�Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed deplores the violence and destruction of property in
Jigjiga and Dire Dawa. He expresses his condolences for the tragic loss of lives.
These tragedies and cycle of violence must end,� Mr Fitsum Arega, chief of staff of
the Prime Minister said Monday.

Ethiopia is divided between ethnically demarcated federal regions that are intended
to give different ethnicities a degree of self-rule but have been criticised for
exacerbating ethnic tensions.

Conflicts
The Somali region, also known as Ogaden, is the second-largest and has been
bedevilled by conflict lasting two decades with the government fighting the rebel
Ogaden National Liberation Front (ONLF) that is seeking secession of the oil-rich
region.

Ethiopia discovered an estimated 4.7 trillion cubic feet of gas and about 13.6
million barrels of associated liquids at the Calub and Hilala gas fields in the
Ogaden Basin about four decades ago. The country, however, is yet to begin
exploiting these resources due to communal conflicts and lack of infrastructure.

In June, the country began test-production undertaken by Chinese oil and gas
exploration company Poly-GCL Petroleum Holdings Investment Ltd that saw three wells
at the Ogaden basin generate 150 barrels of crude oil.

Rashid Abdi, Horn of Africa director at the International Crisis Group (ICG) think
tank in Nairobi, said on Twitter that Prime Minister Abiy's predecessors had relied
on the regional president to pacify the Somali region and keep Islamist Al-Shabaab
militants in neighbouring Somalia from entering Ethiopia.

But since taking office, Abiy has announced major reforms that Somali regional
authorities believe would disrupt their hold on power, Mr Abdi said.

"They distrusted his reform agenda, concluded he was intent on disrupting the cosy
arrangement that allowed the (Somali region) leader untrammelled power," he said.

Rights groups have repeatedly accused the Somali regional government led by
president Abdi Iley of committing rights abuses.

Last month, Human Rights Watch said regional authorities ran a secret jail where
suspected members of a separatist group are tortured, raped and starved.

-Additional reporting by AFP.