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Somali Leaders at Odds Over Suspension of Spy Chief

Somalia Prime Minister Mohamed Hussein Roble suspended Fahad Yasin, chief of the National Intelligence and Security Agency (NISA), for failing to provide reliable evidence of investigations into the alleged killing of 24-year-old Ikran Tahlil Farah, who worked in NISA's cybersecurity department.

NISA blamed Al-Shabaab for Ikran's death, prompting angry and frustrated posts on social media from Ikran's parents and opposition leaders, who say the agency itself had been involved.

In a statement published on September 3, 2021 on pro-Al Shabaab websites, a spokesman for the group said Al-Shabaab knew nothing about Ikran's death.

Roble's move against the NISA chief prompted a public rebuke from President Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed, better known as Farmajo, who in a counter move hours after the prime minister's decision, issued a directive reinstating the intelligence chief. Both men were citing constitutional articles to support their cases.

The new dispute followed months of political wrangling that have threatened to further destabilise a country already torn by militant attacks and clan rivalries.

InFocus

Mokhtar Mohamed / AMISOM Photo / Flickr

Police officers serving under the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) patrol a street in Mogadishu, Somalia, on May 29, 2021.

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