More than 700 delegates attending a three-region state formation conference in Baidoa elected Mohamed Haji Abdinur as president on Thursday (March 27th), Somalia’s RBC Radio reported.

The formation of the new South-western State — comprising Bay, Bakol and Lower Shabelle regions — directly competes with a rival six-region administration formed in Baidoa on March 3rd, with Madobe Nunow Mohamed elected president.

Mohamed’s state comprises Bay, Bakol, Lower Shabelle, Gedo, Lower Jubba and Middle Jubba regions.

Of the 725 delegates who attended the conference on Thursday, 713 voted for Abdinur, 10 voted against him and two abstained.

“I will work on the security of these regions I am appointed for, and I will also endeavour to defeat al-Shabaab from the areas they are still operating in these regions,” Abdinur said.

Meanwhile, former Somali parliament speaker Sharif Hassan Sheikh Aden was airlifted from Baidoa to Mogadishu after his presence in Baidoa sparked several days of violent protests, Somalia’s Goobjoog Radio reported Wednesday.

Aden travelled to Baidoa on Sunday to rally support for the formation of the three-state administrative region, prompting counter-protests from supporters of Mohamed.

Two people were killed and two injured when protests between the rival political groups escalated into violence on Sunday, and protests continued for several days afterward, UN-funded Radio Bar-Kulan reported.

African Union Mission in Somalia forces were called in to protect Aden’s home from the demonstrators surrounding it.

Head of the United Nations Assistance Mission in Somalia Nicholas Kay has called on stakeholders to promote a peaceful resolution to the conflict.

SABAHI

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