The Federal Government of Somalia (FGS) has pulled out its troops from Dhusamareb as the meeting between regional leaders commences in the Galmudug administrative capital.
FGS troops, most of whom are attached to the elite Haram’ad squad, left the region in their hundreds yesterday.
All the five leaders of the Federal Member States (FMS) are expected in Dhusamareb on Thursday for the meeting.
The leaders opted to meet after the scheduled FGS-FMS meeting, which President Mohamed Farmaajo was to host in Mogadishu from July 5-8, failed to materialize.
According to government sources, the withdrawal of its troops was the result of a request by several FMS leaders who termed the presence of the Haram’ad force “unnecessary.”
Nevertheless, that claim is yet to be substantiated since none of the regional leaders confirmed making the call.
The leaders of the five states would be meeting for the first time in over a year.