1. Home
  2. East Africa
  3. Ethiopia

Somali clan leader abducted

A spokesman for the Somali National Front, Ibrahim Jama Hawle, told reporters in Mogadishu that Ethiopian troops had picked up the Marehan clan’s traditional elder, Ugas Omar Ugas Hirsi, in Gedo, AFP reported. The SNF spokesman said he was abducted after he refused to attend an Ethiopian-sponsored inter-Marehan conference in the Bulohawo district in the south of Gedo region, bordering Ethiopia and Kenya. The SNF has accused Ethiopia of supporting and training the rival Rahanweyn Resistance Army in Bay and Bakool regions. “It is possible the abduction was to stop Ugas Omar from visiting Djibouti [for peace talks],” the spokesman said.


This article was produced by IRIN News while it was part of the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. Please send queries on copyright or liability to the UN. For more information: https://shop.un.org/rights-permissions

Share this article

Our ability to deliver compelling, field-based reporting on humanitarian crises rests on a few key principles: deep expertise, an unwavering commitment to amplifying affected voices, and a belief in the power of independent journalism to drive real change.

We need your help to sustain and expand our work. Your donation will support our unique approach to journalism, helping fund everything from field-based investigations to the innovative storytelling that ensures marginalised voices are heard.

Please consider joining our membership programme. Together, we can continue to make a meaningful impact on how the world responds to crises.

Become a member of The New Humanitarian

Support our journalism and become more involved in our community. Help us deliver informative, accessible, independent journalism that you can trust and provides accountability to the millions of people affected by crises worldwide.

Join