Fall out in Somaliland as six ministers resign

A major political rift has rocked the breakaway state of Somaliland after six ministers and two deputies including the spokesman of the presidency resigned office today.

The ministers are said to have fallen out with the state president Ahmed Mohamed Mohamoud Silanyo following his declared choice for the current chair, Musa Bihi Abdi of the ruling party, Kulmiye.

The ministers are Foreign Affairs Ministers Mohamed Bihi Yoonis,  Justice Minister, Hussein Ahmed, Office of President Minister Hirsi Ali Hajj Hassan, Labour Minister Abdi Awdhir and Public Works and Housing minister Abdirisaq Khalif Ahmed. Others include Reintegration deputy minister Nimo Hussein Qowdhan, Ministry of Industry General Director Moulid Waris Abdullahi and the president’s spokesman Ahmed Dhuhul.

The mass resignation is a culmination of differences in the ruling party, Kulmiye and it is likely to cause cracks both in government and the party as president Silanyo seeks to fill in the vacant positions.