In Gedo where Marehan predominate Madobe is afraid that supporters of his old enemy President Mohamed Abdullah Mohamed 'Farmajo' who are involved in recruiting for the Ma'wisley multi-clan militia are more interested in fighting him than Al Shabaab (AC Vol 63 No 23 Al Shabaab lashes out after heavy losses)...

This is important for the silent battle taking place in parliament between him and the former president Mohammed Abdullah Mohammed 'Farmajo' and his one-time prime minister Hassan Ali Khaire...

A year ago donors were ready to negotiate with the jihadists but now they see Hassan Sheikh as a better prospect and are re-engaging with the federal government after three years of frosty relations with President Mohammed Abdullah Mohammed 'Farmajo'...

' The government agreement with Coastline was first announced in February by oil minister Abdirashid Mahamed Ahmed but he was immediately countermanded by President Mohammed Abdullah Mohammed 'Farmajo' and his prime minister Mohammed Hussein Roble – an unusual case of the two men agreeing...

Supporters of the recently ousted federal President Mohammed Abdullah Mohammed 'Farmajo' resent the popularity of Hassan Sheikh's hard line on Al Shabaab and have been working to sow division in major clans...

Instead he had left in place officers beholden to ex-President Mohamed Abdullah Mohamed 'Farmajo' and his right-hand man Fahad Yasin (AC Vol 63 No 19 Why the killing of a spy is shaking the state)...

Hassan Sheikh is banking on non-traditional donors to help him as well as trying to fix the damage caused by ex-President Mohamed Abdullah Mohamed 'Farmajo''s underhand attempts to perpetuate his rule which many believed jeopardised Somalia's small-scale but hard-won national institutions (AC Vol 63 No 3 The on-off elections are back on)...

President Mohamed Abdullah Mohamed 'Farmajo' only admitted during the handover ceremony with Hassan Sheikh in May that as alleged in the media and confirmed by anxious relatives the 5 000 had been secretly dispatched to Eritrea for training (AC Vol 63 No 12 Hassan Sheikh takes Mogadishu by storm & Vol 62 No 21 At the mercy of friends)...

This is despite being vilified and attacked militarily by the Salafists who are influential in Mogadishu especially in the circles of ex-President Mohammed Abdullah Mohammed 'Farmajo' (AC Vol 62 No 22 Army bloodies Sufi militia)...

President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud's presidency is off to an energetic start with a major reorientation of Somalia's regional alliances a return to federalist and devolutionary policies and a purge of the National Intelligence and Security Agency (NISA) which was stuffed with supporters of his predecessor Mohamed Abdullah Mohamed 'Farmajo' and infiltrated by Al Shabaab...

Somalis press-ganged to fight in Ethiopia Ex-President Mohamed Abdullah Mohamed 'Farmajo' finally acknowledged at the handover ceremony for his successor that about 5 000 Somalis had been sent for military training in Eritrea and they should be back home soon...

It is proposed to mark the change in NISA's national role by renaming it the Federal Intelligence and Security Agency (FISA) underlining President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud's commitment to the federal system which President Mohamed Abdullah Mohamed 'Farmajo' was opposed to and to make it a neutral servant of the state...