Somali prime minister suspends foreign minister

MOGADISHU, Somalia

Somali Prime Minister Mohamed Hussein Roble announced Tuesday that he suspended Foreign Minister Abdisaiid Muuse Ali for allegedly releasing a ship carrying illegal charcoal that was detained in Oman.

Roble said he instructed the Office of the National Auditor and security agencies to investigate the issue and give the results to the country's judicial authorities.

He described the release of the ship as "illegal" and against the nation’s laws and international law.

State media reported that Abdisaid has been suspended for abusing his power.

Experts said relations between Roble and Abdisaid have recently deteriorated.

"The PM waited for the right moment to fire him since President Farmaajo (now former President Mohamed Abdulllahi Mohamed) lost the elections and targeting his close allies was obvious," Abdurahman Sheikh Azhari, director of the Centre for Analysis and Strategic Studies ( CASS), a think tank based in Mogadishu, told Anadolu Agency.

He said Roble based his suspension for alleged violations Abdisaid made with several changes in diplomatic missions, recruiting those close to him and communicating with the Omani government to release a ship full of illegal charcoal without the knowledge of the prime minister.

Meanwhile, President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud has made his fifth appointment since taking office Monday when he appointed Hussein Moalim as his national security adviser.

The appointment will help the new president with his "profound commitment to achieving a safer Somalia," said a statement by the State House.

"Mr. Hussein possesses rich experience & expertise in National Security & has architected several security strategies," according to the Somali presidency.

Hussein previously served in the post and he was chairman of Mogadishu-based think tank, Hiraal Institute.

And as climate change-related drought hit the Horn of African nation worsens, the president named Abdirahman Abdishakur Warsame as Special Envoy to Drought Response on Tuesday.

Warsame was a presidential candidate in the last election.

Mohamud said the appointment of the new envoy is his part in prioritizing urgently resolving national “climate-driven drought challenges."