Former Somali intel chief detained in Djibouti

MOGADISHU, Somalia

Former Somali intelligence chief Fahad Yasin was detained on Friday by Djibouti authorities while on transit to Somalia, the office of the Somali president said.

Abdirashid M Hashi, President Farmaajo’s spokesman, in a statement, condemned the arrests saying "the Federal Government of Somalia (FGS) regrets the violation of the rights of travelers and international law by the Government of Djibouti."

Hashi condemned "the unlawful detention" of Fahad Yasin who was ejected from his plane in Djibouti and interrupted during his travel.

Yasin was traveling to Mogadishu to attend a National Security Council meeting, said the presidency.

The detainment of Yasin is threatening a diplomatic row between the two Horn of African countries, while the Djiboutian authority is yet to issue reasons as to why Yasin has been detained despite Somalia warning that "such acts will not help strengthen ties between our governments.”

Fahad Yasin is currently the national security adviser to President Farmaajo.

On Sept. 6, Somali Prime Minister Mohamed Hussein Roble sacked Fahad Yasin Haji, the head of the National Intelligence and Security Agency (NISA), months after the mysterious killing of a female intelligence operative.

The premier ordered the attorney general to investigate the murder of Ikran Tahlil, the female NISA agent who was killed in June. Farmaajo, however, asked Yasin to continue in his role. In a statement, he called the sacking "illegal."

The two leaders, Roble and Farmaajo, locked horns over the hiring and firing in the country’s security agencies, triggering political instability in the country as it struggles to hold long-delayed elections and fight rising extremism.

The power struggle became public last week when Roble sacked Somalia's intelligence chief over his handling of a high-profile probe into the disappearance of a young political worker.