Somali government breaks silence on Abdikarim rendition

The Somali government broke its silence on Wednesday over the extraordinary rendition of Abdikarim Muse “Qalbi Dhagax” justified its actions by saying it had agreed to cooperate with Ethiopia on fighting terrorist groups like the ONLF and Al-Shabaab.

Cabinet ministers and key officials were called into a tense eleventh-hour meeting in Villa Somalia before releasing a strongly worded press release defending its actions. A planned parliamentary session for Wednesday was also rescheduled as a result of the political crisis.

The Somali government has said that the extradition was done under an obscure agreement signed between the two East African countries under the Hassan Sheikh Mohamud administration. The letter also attempted to draw a connection between Qalbi Dhagax and Al Shabaab – a claim the militant insurgent group strongly denied.

“Abdikarim Muse is a top leader of an armed group (ONLF) and carried out dangerous acts in Somalia whilst maintaining a working with Al-Shabaab terrorists.”

Pointing to a pair of agreements signed on June 7, 2015, and May 2, 2016, the Somali government said that it had entered into a security agreement with Ethiopia aimed at dismantling Al-Shabaab and ONLF operations in both countries. The documents also identified the two groups as “enemies” of Ethiopia and Somalia. The government said that the documents were signed by three former ministers – Mahad Mohamed Salad, Mohamed Jama Mursal Geelle, Abdikarim Guled before adding that they would be reviewing any agreements signed by the previous administration.