Somalia PM denies paying Al-Shabaab to keep Mogadishu secure
What happened
40-second readSomalia's Prime Minister Hamza Abdi Barre denied that his government pays Al-Shabaab to stop attacks on Mogadishu, stating that the government has never held talks with the group.
What else the report says
- Barre said in an interview with Dawan TV that the government does not pay the Islamist militant group large sums of money so that the capital remains relatively secure and authorities can boast about it.
- He said the allegations were spread by members of the government of former President Mohamed Abdullahi Farmajo, but did not name them.
- Barre said he believed those officials themselves had contacts and friendly relations with Al-Shabaab.
- He did not provide evidence for the accusation.
Reported by Somali Guardian
- Still unclear
- What evidence, if any, does Barre have for his claims about former officials?
More from this report
Key points
- Somalia's Prime Minister Hamza Abdi Barre denies that his government pays Al-Shabaab to stop attacks on Mogadishu.
- Barre claims that the allegations of payments to Al-Shabaab were spread by members of the former President Mohamed Abdullahi Farmajo's government.
- Barre states that the government has never held talks with Al-Shabaab but does not rule out future talks.
Original report with a saved translation · English
English · Machine translated · Not human reviewed
Original source text
MOGADISHU (Somaliguardian) – Somalia’s Prime Minister Hamza Abdi Barre has denied his government pays Al-Shabaab to stop attacks on Mogadishu, saying it has never held talks with the group.
Barre said in an interview with Dawan TV that the government does not pay the Islamist militant group large sums of money so that the capital remains relatively secure and authorities can boast about it.
He said the allegations were spread by members of the government of former President Mohamed Abdullahi Farmajo, but did not name them.
Barre said he believed those officials themselves had contacts and friendly relations with Al-Shabaab.
He did not provide evidence for the accusation.
Barre said the government and Al-Shabaab were engaged only in fighting, not talks, but he did not rule out future talks with the group.
The government has never been averse to talks, he said, but only wants to talk to anyone in Al-Shabaab who wants to renounce the group and its ideology.
Those who do have the right to live as they wish and could even join the government, he said.
Former Al-Shabaab members currently work for the government and some hold senior official portfolios, he added.
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Context and open questions
Reader briefing
Article context
What happened
- Somalia's Prime Minister Hamza Abdi Barre denied that his government pays Al-Shabaab to stop attacks on Mogadishu, stating that the government has never held talks with the group.
Key claims
- Somalia's Prime Minister Hamza Abdi Barre denies that his government pays Al-Shabaab to stop attacks on Mogadishu.
- Barre claims that the allegations of payments to Al-Shabaab were spread by members of the former President Mohamed Abdullahi Farmajo's government.
- Barre states that the government has never held talks with Al-Shabaab but does not rule out future talks.
- Barre mentions that former Al-Shabaab members currently work for the government and hold senior official positions.
Source limitations
- The article does not provide evidence for Barre's accusations against former government officials.
- There is no response from the former government officials mentioned by Barre.
- The article does not include independent verification of Barre's claims.
Reader takeaway
The Prime Minister's denial of payments to Al-Shabaab raises questions about the government's relationship with the group and security in Mogadishu.
What remains unclear
- What evidence, if any, does Barre have for his claims about former officials?
- How does the government plan to address security concerns in Mogadishu?
- What are the implications of Barre's statements for future negotiations with Al-Shabaab?
Why it matters
The article does not provide enough independently verified detail to assess the specific significance of this event beyond what is reported.
Why this story appears
This is a single source report from Warkasta’s monitored network. The source link remains available so you can read the publisher’s original context.
- Source count
- 1
- Sources used
- Somali Guardian
- Language mix
- English
- Translation status
- Shown in its original language
- AI synthesis
- No AI synthesis is used for this story panel
Signals used: somalia · politics · politics · shabaab · somalia