Preliminary dialogue sessions held in recent days in Mogadishu and Nairobi have paved the way for a meeting tonight in Nairobi, Kenya, between former Speaker of the Somali Parliament Mohamed Mursal and the President of South West State Abdiaziz Laftagareen.
The talks, mediated by MP Aadan Saransoor, former Minister Amin Ahmed, and lawyer Ahmed Dheere, successfully led to Mursal agreeing to meet with the South West leader.
Sources close to both sides told us that President Laftagareen had requested this meeting and sent a delegation on his behalf in an effort to ease tensions with former Speaker Mursal and to quell public discussion following his refusal to allow Mursal’s planned visit to Baidoa.
According to the sources, tonight’s meeting is expected to focus on personal reconciliation between the two leaders, without party or political group representation.
The meeting comes after the South West administration on October 21 blocked a planned trip by Speaker Mursal and accompanying MPs to Baidoa — all of whom hail from the South West region.
