{"id":838827,"date":"2026-11-09T14:30:00","date_gmt":"2026-11-09T19:30:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mereja.com\/index\/?p=838827"},"modified":"2026-11-09T13:45:41","modified_gmt":"2026-11-09T18:45:41","slug":"somalias-president-offers-hiiraan-a-role-as-hirshabelle-capital-as-the-regions-governor-resigns","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mereja.com\/index\/838827","title":{"rendered":"Somalia’s president offers Hiiraan a role as Hirshabelle capital, as the region’s governor resigns"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Cropped<\/figure>\n

President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud of Somalia, February 12, 2025 (cropped). Photo: Press Service of the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan \/ Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 4.0 [file photo]<\/em><\/p>\n

President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud said on Sunday that Hiiraan could host the capital of Hirshabelle state, but left the final decision to regional leaders. On the same day, Hiiraan’s governor announced his resignation.<\/p>\n

Mohamud spoke in Jowhar, the current state capital, at the inauguration of Hirshabelle leader Ali Abdullahi Hussein, known as Ali Guudlaawe, for a new term. Prime Minister Hamza Abdi Barre and the leaders of several federal member states attended, the state news agency SONNA reported.<\/p>\n

According to FTL Somalia and Dawan Africa, the president said the people of Hiiraan had been given the right to have the state capital. But he said no final decision had been made. He said Hirshabelle’s leaders would decide, and that any new capital must be a city that is secure enough for the government to work. He did not name a city or give a date.<\/p>\n

Former intelligence chief Abdullahi Mohamed Ali Sanbaloolshe rejected the offer, saying the federal president has no legal authority to decide the location of a regional state’s capital, Hiiraan Online<\/a> reported.<\/p>\n

The offer comes as the Hawadle clan in Hiiraan presses its grievances against the federal government and the state. Hawadle traditional leader Ugaas Yusuf Ugaas Hassan has urged residents and security personnel from Hiiraan to prepare to defend the region against what he called a planned federal attack, FTL Somalia reported. Clan militia took over government offices in Beledweyne, Hiiraan\u2019s main town, late last month.<\/p>\n

On Sunday, Musa Salad, the governor of Hiiraan region, announced his resignation and said he supported the call by Ugaas Hassan, Garowe Online reported.<\/p>\n

At the same ceremony, Southwest State leader Adan Mohamed Nur, known as Madobe, accused African Union troops in Somalia of getting involved in the country’s internal politics, Garowe Online reported. He did not give examples.<\/p>\n

Somalia’s politics are tense. On November 5, the Supreme Court said Mohamud’s term had ended, which his government rejects. Mereja Media reported on October 31 that clan militia took over government offices in Beledweyne<\/a>, and on November 6 that the Supreme Court said the president’s mandate had expired<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Sources<\/h4>\n