MOGADISHU, March 17 (Reuters) - Somalia's South West state said on Tuesday it was suspending all cooperation and relations with the government in Mogadishu, the latest sign of strain in the Horn of Africa country's fragile federal system.
* At a press conference, South West officials accused thefederal government of arming militias and trying to unseat thestate's president, Abdiaziz Hassan Mohamed Laftagareen. * Somalia's defence and information ministers did notrespond to Reuters' requests for comment. * Disputes over constitutional changes, elections and thebalance of power between Mogadishu and regional administrationsrepeatedly open up political faultlines in Somalia. * The South West administration says relations withMogadishu worsened after the federal government pushed throughconstitutional amendments opposed by some state leaders. * Travel agencies told Reuters on Tuesday that commercialflights between Mogadishu and Baidoa, the administrative capitalof South West state, had been halted. Humanitarian flights,including for United Nations operations, were continuing. * Baidoa, which lies about 245 km (150 miles) northwest ofMogadishu, is a politically and militarily sensitive citybecause it hosts federal troops, regional security forces andinternational humanitarian operations in a zone affected bydrought, conflict and displacement. * The Mogadishu government's relations with other stateshave also been fraught. Somaliland declared independence in 1991and has long been outside Mogadishu's control. * The administration of semi-autonomous Puntland said inMarch 2024 it would no longer recognise the federal governmentuntil disputed constitutional amendments were approved in anationwide referendum. * Semi-autonomous Jubbaland suspended ties with Mogadishu inNovember 2024 in a dispute over regional elections.
(Reporting by Abdi Sheikh; Writing by Vincent Mumo Nzilani; Editing by Alexander Winning, Ammu Kannampilly and Andrew Heavens)
