Farmaajo’s close ally axed as Foreign Minister over ‘charcoal export clearance’

GOOBJOOG NEWS|MOGADISHU; Foreign Affairs Minister Abdisaid Ali has been sacked over accusations that he cleared a boat carrying charcoal from Somalia to Oman becoming the first close ally of immediate former President Mohamed Farmaajo to be axed under the new administration.

Prime Minister Mohamed Roble said in a decree that Ali posed a ‘national security’ threat for releasing the boat. The circumstances surrounding the boat were not clear in the statement but sources said the boat had been detained in Oman.

Roble also directed the Auditor General to investigate the matter and present findings to relevant authorities for further action.

The export of charcoal from Somalia is sanctioned as part of the three-decades-old arms embargo by the United Nations Security Council.

Ali previously served as National Security Advisor to Farmaajo from 2017 to 2021 when he was elevated to head the foreign affairs docket. He was among the inner clique of the Farmaajo administration.