Tensions between Somalia’s federal government and the semi-autonomous Jubbaland region have escalated into open conflict, officials confirmed on Wednesday. The fighting began in Ras Kamboni, where federal forces reportedly deployed drones to attack Jubbaland troops.
“This morning, federal forces from Mogadishu in Ras Kamboni, using drones, attacked Jubbaland forces,” said Adan Ahmed Haji, Jubbaland’s Assistant Security Minister, during a press conference in Kismayu, the region’s capital.
Attempts to get comments from Somalia’s Information Minister Daud Aweis and Interior Minister Yusuf Ali have so far been unsuccessful.
The clashes follow Jubbaland’s controversial re-election of Ahmed Mohamed Islam Madobe for a third term as regional president in late November, defying the Mogadishu government’s advice. Jubbaland, which borders Kenya and Ethiopia, is one of Somalia’s five semi-autonomous states. The re-election has heightened existing tensions between the two governments.
