The African Union (AU) on Sunday called on Somali leaders to engage in peaceful dialogue, warning that rising tensions between the federal government and South West state risk undermining the country\u2019s stability, unity, and humanitarian situation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Expressing concern over the deepening standoff between Mogadishu and South West state, AU Commission Chair Mahmoud Ali Youssouf urged all sides to exercise maximum restraint to prevent the situation from escalation, according to an AU statement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He highlighted the National Consultative Council, a platform for dialogue between Somalia\u2019s federal government and states, and urged stakeholders to use it constructively to resolve their differences peacefully.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The statement said AU \u201cstands ready to support dialogue and reconciliation,\u201d reaffirming its support for peace, stability, and state-building efforts in Somalia.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cUnderscoring that differences between the Federal Government and Federal Member States should be addressed through dialogue and emphasizing the importance of unity and cooperation,\u201d it added.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Somalia\u2019s South West state suspended cooperation with the federal government on March 17, accusing it of arming militias and attempting to remove President Abdiaziz Hassan Mohamed Laftagareen.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The federal government later declared Laftagareen\u2019s mandate and the state administration has expired.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
South West state\u2019s parliament responded by re-electing him for a second term on Saturday, a result immediately rejected by Mogadishu as an \u201cillegal self-election\u201d violating the constitution, electoral laws, and National Consultative Council agreements.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The African Union (AU) on Sunday called on Somali leaders to engage in peaceful dialogue, warning that rising tensions between the federal government and South West state risk undermining the country\u2019s stability, unity, and humanitarian situation. Expressing concern over the deepening standoff between Mogadishu and South West state, AU Commission Chair Mahmoud Ali Youssouf urged […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":2324,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[352,351,350,42],"class_list":["post-2316","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-africa","tag-abdiaziz-hassan-mohamed-laftagareen","tag-african-union","tag-ali-youssouf","tag-somalia"],"yoast_head":"\n