Tension high in Bosaso as Deni fueds with elders over sacking of PSF boss

GOOBJOOG NEWS|BOSASO: Tension remains high in Bosaso following uncertainty over differences between clan elders and President Abdullahi Deni regarding the fate of the sacked Puntland Security Forces commandant Mohamed Diyano.

Sources in the coastal city said there was some limited troops movement in the city amid reports that Deni was running out of patience on how to handle the near month-long tussle that has put his administration at loggerheads with sections of PSF and clan elders from the region.

The elders announced a conditional support Tuesday for Diyano’s sacking attracting rebuke from Deni. The elders said they would back the sacking of Diyano but on condition that all the assets he used during his tenure including the house and vehicles be handed to him.

But in a sharp rejoinder, Deni rubbished the proposal noting the assets belonging to the people of Puntland and not an individual officer.

Diano who succeeded his brother as PSF commandant in January 2019 has since stood ground and declined to leave office heightening tensions within the PSF. A section of the force is reportedly allied to him while another owes allegiance to the newly appointed commandant Amin Abdullahi Haji Khair.

Deni has in recent months worked to fashion the Puntland security sector in his political image as he reportedly seeks to join the presidential race at the national level.

On November 2, he removed then-Police Commandant Abdi Yare and replaced him with Mohamed Ali Hashi. Days later he went for the regional commandants and Puntland Maritime Police Force (PMPF).

According to sources, Diano’s brother and predecessor Asad Diano is closely linked to outgoing President Mohamed Farmaajo and was even rumoured to have been considered for the position of the National Intelligence and Security Agency (NISA) when he left PSF in 2019. His recent active involvement in the district elections in Qardho, Deni’s backyard is reported to have further exacerbated Deni’s move to rid the Diano family of influence in the security sector.