Somalia: Ex-Mogadishu Mayer Arrested for Withholding TFG Weapons

Last Wednesday, Ethiopian troops arrested the former Mayor at his house in the area of KM4 in the district of Hodan in Mogadishu. The Somali TFG acknowledged the arrest as its Interior Minister said Mr. Dhere was arrested for not transferring weapons and militia forces he accumulated when he was the Governor of Benadir region and Mayor of Mogadishu.

On Wednesday, there were rumors among the Mogadishu residents that the Tigrean Military Sergeant commanding the Ethiopian troops had unfinished business with former Mayor of Mogadishu, citing previous reports where Mr. Dhere criticized the sergeant for evidently arresting and harassing a female member of the city's Tax collection staff.

The TFG Minister of Interior Affairs and Public Safety Mr. Muse Nur Amin also denied reports that Ethiopian forces arrested the former Mayor without the knowledge of the TFG in a press conference in Mogadishu, “We are aware of the arrest of the former Mayor and Governor” added the Minister.