BELEDWEYNE, Somalia – Heavily armed fighters from the local Macawisley clan militia loyal to the Xawaadle sub-clan have launched intensive military movements across the strategic city of Beledweyne, where federal Defense Minister Ahmed Moalim Fiqi is currently visiting, local sources reported Saturday.
The armed mobilization follows a sharp public warning issued earlier today by Fiqi against the former chief of the National Intelligence and Security Agency (NISA), Abdullahi Mohamed Ali “Sanbaloolshe”—an influential political figure hailing from the region—which local factions interpreted as a thinly veiled death threat.
Angered by Fiqi’s aggressive rhetoric directed at the former intelligence chief within his own political constituency, Macawisley fighters have taken up strategic positions. Local sources indicate the militia may seize control of the city’s airport to block Fiqi’s departure back to the capital.
The Defense Minister arrived in Beledweyne on Saturday morning to attend a commemorative event marking Djibouti’s Independence Day, hosted by Djiboutian forces deployed in the region under the African Union transition mission.
The standoff has triggered an immediate security alert in the central Somali town, raising fears of direct clashes between the federal delegation’s security detail and local armed elements.
