This archive report was first published on 26 November 2019.
November 26, 2019
Somalia's Jubbaland Vice-President Mohamud Sayyid Adan has been holed up at a Mandera hotel in northeastern Kenya for his safety, after Ethiopian forces allegedly prevented him from visiting Bula Hawa, a border town in Somalia.
According to a security source in Mandera, Mr Adan and his entourage were booked at the hotel five days ago by Kenyan security agencies, and their security was immediately taken over by the Kenya Defence Forces (KDF).
However, KDF spokesperson Major Paul Njuguna failed to respond to several phone calls seeking confirmation of the military's role in the stay of the Jubbaland VP.
The Somali Democratic Council (SDC), a lobby group, has accused the Ethiopian troops of preventing the VP from visiting the city of Beled-Hawo (Bula Hawa) in Gedo, Jubbaland state.
SDC described the incident as 'a clear and unmistakable invasion' by the Ethiopian government.
SDC has also accused the Ethiopian government and the Federal Government of Somalia, led by President Mohamed Abdullahi Farmajo, of meddling in Jubbaland affairs.
SDC has written a protest letter to the United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, dated November 20, 2019, accusing Ethiopia and the Federal Government of Somalia of detaining duly elected officials in the cities of Beled-Hawo, Dolow, and Luuq.
SDC is seeking the intervention of the UN Security Council to force Ethiopia to withdraw its troops from Gedo.
