BAIDOA CONFERENCE ON RECONCILIATION AND DIALOGUE FOR SOUTH WEST STATE.

In May of 2022 upon his re-election for a historic second term in Somalia’s political history, H.E.
Dr. Hassan Sheikh expressed the firm commitment that his government will focus on security,
economic recovery, political stability, and debt relief. An element of this commitment that is
political stability was threatened last year amid ongoing problems when in December 2022,
political unrest unfolded in Baidoa, the former capital of Southwest state. The conflict involved
the current President Abdiaziz Hassan Mohamed Lafta Gareyn who’s term has expired last year
and the opposition candidate, Mohamed Aden Farketi. The opposition candidate’s residence
was raided two months ago with the opposition candidate, Farketi, resisting the attack.

Several soldiers on both sides were killed between the regional forces and the opposition’s
bodyguards. Additionally, some of the opposition leaders were arrested by Southwest’s
president. Due to the unfolding of these events and the president’s commitment to political
stability at all levels of the federal government, the speaker of the lower house chamber of the
Somali federal parliament Aden Madobe initiated a resolution of the crisis on 19 th November
2022 in his constituency through dialogue.

To this end, a conference in Baidoa in the Southwest state where the conflict ensued was set to
occur on 5th of January 2023 however being delayed due to opposition and technical Reasons.
Nonetheless, the conference did eventually happen on the 16th of January 2023 when the
president along with other ministers and government officials arrived at Shaati Gaduud Airport.
In this first conference, no major concessions and resolutions were concluded thus
necessitating the need for phase II of the conflict resolution.

This second meeting of Ministers, Southwest state president and H.E. Dr. Hasssan Sheikh
Mohamud occurred over the course of two days from 2nd February to 4th February. The agenda
of the meeting to achieve a peaceful and an amicable agreement for this conflict to bring about
unity and cooperation among the people of this region. This signifies a huge step forward for
Somalia’s political arena which has been marked by violence and instability with the current
administration serious and committed to political stability at all levels, a feat not seen in the
previous administrations.

Furthermore, the current administration continues to set an example for all Somalis in the ways
conflicts are to be resolved from now on in the country through its response to the conflict in
Baidoa. Respect for the rule of law and for soft forms of conflict resolution are indispensable to
a country like Somalia that is in recovery and in the midst of state building. Recourse to violence
and use of force cannot remain the only means of conflict resolution and the president is
cognizant of this hence this approach. Additionally, a key component of stabilization in a largely
unstable country like Somalia is social inclusion, peace building and dialogue which conferences
like this provide the opportunity for.

On a different tangent, phase two of the conference that was concluded on Sunday is important
for another major reason. The Southwest state in Somalia is largely known as an Al-Shabab
hotspot where the dangerous ideology of the terrorist group thrives. In line with the current
administration’s war against the group’s ideology and as part of the government’s triple
offensive against al-Shabab which is the military, financial and ideological components, political
stability and security is key and vital in the most affected region of the country by al-Shabab.
The terrorist group in the past have strategically taken advantage of civil unrest and political
instability in regions of Somalia where the government does not have foothold to imprint their
ideology and enforce their extremist agendas.

Therefore, it is commendable that the president and his administration took the initiative to
swiftly and in a timely manner respond to the conflict in Baidoa and in the right manner at that,
through dialogue. The president in his post-conference speech heralded the progress made
from the conference on the night of 4th February with the opposition leader Mohamed Aden
Farketi and the president of the Southwest state visibly present.
Finally, among other resolutions form the conference, it was agreed that the traditional elders
of the Southwest state should appoint and select members of the parliament in line with the
Southwest state constitution from November 2023 to December of the same year. In addition,
an election of a new Southwest state president should be held in the January of 2024 as per the
southwest state constitution with both the opposition leaders agreeing to this. Lastly, the final
agreement from the conference as agreed by key stakeholders including the presidential
candidates of southwest state is that the Interior Ministry of the Federal Government shall
oversee the implementation and application of the agreement.