The South West President has agreed to engage with the opposition politicians who are opposed to his one-year term extension during the Baidoa Reconciliation Conference.
President Abdiaziz Laftagareen indicated his readiness for discussions and amicable resolution of the election-related spat in Baidoa during the opening ceremony of the Baidoa Reconciliation Conference on Tuesday.Â
He reminded the South West political stakeholders of the state’s critical security situation, expressing alarm over Al-Shabaab’s protracted blockade of several important towns.
He urged the people of the South West and its leaders to devote their energy and commitment to putting an end to Al-Shabaab’s atrocities in the state.
“Our dispute is akin to a fight between two bald men over a comb,” he said, referring to the political wrangle in the region despite the absence of large swathes of South West State territory in the hands of Al-Shabaab.Â
The Baidoa Reconciliation Conference has entered its second day, following its inauguration on Tuesday by President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud.
According to unconfirmed sources, Somalia’s Villa Somalia has accepted the incumbent President’s one-year mandate extension to organise the elections. But these reports could not be independently verified.