Local clan militia holding the Hiiraan regional headquarters have unveiled a new armed unit and given Hirshabelle officials 24 hours to leave Beledweyne. The governor appointed by Hirshabelle says he will stay.
Tension is rising in Beledweyne, capital of Somalia's Hiiraan region, after local Macawisley militia commanders ordered officials of the Hirshabelle federal member state to leave the region within 24 hours. The commanders, who seized the regional administration offices on Friday 30 October, issued the order on Monday 2 November while addressing hundreds of fighters at the regional headquarters, BBC Somali reported. The commanders said that from now on no one claiming to represent Hirshabelle would be seen in the region.
Muse Salad Weheliye, whom Hirshabelle appointed as Hiiraan governor in October, rejected the order. He told reporters he would not leave Beledweyne and that he administers the city as regional governor, Hiiraan Online reported (CERHA summary from Somali). He said the grievances were the same ones Hiiraan residents had held against Hirshabelle for ten years and would be resolved through elders and politicians.
A dispute over the governorship
The confrontation stems from Hirshabelle President Ali Gudlawe Hussein's decree in October removing Governor Mohamed Hussein Mohamed Arab and appointing Weheliye, Hiiraan Online reported. The dismissal came days after Mohamed Arab publicly criticised how revenue from Beledweyne's livestock market was shared with other localities. The Hirshabelle presidency did not link the two. Mohamed Arab rejects his removal and says he remains the legitimate governor. The dispute is unfolding as Hirshabelle prepares for a presidential election in which Gudlawe is seeking another term.
According to Kaab TV, local fighters took control of parts of the Lamagalaay regional headquarters in late October and set up positions near the Liqliqato bridge and outside the airport. Somali National Army troops near the headquarters reportedly withdrew without fighting. On Monday, a new Macawisley force named "Dulmi-diid" was paraded at Lamagalaay, where Mohamed Arab called on forces under the Hirshabelle administration to leave the city within 24 hours. Hirshabelle-aligned troops loyal to Weheliye have taken up defensive positions.
Kaab TV also reported that a young girl was killed when armed men opened fire in the city and that three men had been arrested. The circumstances have not been independently established. In the reports reviewed by CERHA, no direct clashes between the two sides had been reported, and there was no public statement from the federal government in Mogadishu.
The Macawisley clan militias rose to prominence in Hiiraan in 2022 fighting al-Shabaab alongside government forces, and remain a significant armed force in the region.
Image: Rooftops and houses in Beledweyne, capital of Somalia's Hiiraan region, 2016. Abdirahman65, via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0.