Lower House Speaker Sheikh Adan Mohamed Nur Madobe and members of the Southwest opposition groups have agreed to remove pro-opposition militia forces from Baidoa following a meeting in Baidoa.
The opposition said they decided to accept Madobe’s involvement in the forthcoming reconciliation meeting, which was scheduled for January 5 but was postponed for unknown reasons.
Madoobe also met with the Southwest state council of traditional elders, civil society members, and security agency officials to discuss the much anticipated reconciliation meeting, which officials hope will end the political impasse between regional state leaders and the opposition.
Somali parliament speaker Adan Mohamed Nur Madobe landed in Baidoa on Monday. Madobe is expected to mediate the dispute between Southwest regional President Laftagareen and opposition figures.
The meeting comes weeks after an armed standoff between the two parties in Baidoa left more than ten people dead. The gun battle broke out at the home of former federal finance minister Mohamed Adan Ibrahim Fargeti, where the opposition-loyal militia had gathered.
