Speaker at Somali TV debate triggers outcry after suggesting use of Al-Shabaab suicide bombers for Ethiopia

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Speaker at Somali TV debate triggers outcry after suggesting use of Al-Shabaab suicide bombers for Ethiopia

NAIROBI (HORN OBSERVER) - A recent TV debate in Mogadishu, hosted by Universal TV, has ignited public outrage after an employee of Somalia's Ministry of Information suggested the use of Al-Shabaab suicide bombers against Somaliland and Ethiopia.

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During the debate, Mohamed Roble, an employee of the Ministry of Information, proposed the idea of directing Al-Shabaab's activities towards Ethiopia and Somaliland, using the group's insurgency to improve internal security and foster Somali unity.

NAIROBI (HORN OBSERVER) - A recent TV debate in Mogadishu, hosted by Universal TV, has ignited public outrage after an employee of Somalia's Ministry of Information suggested the use of Al-Shabaab suicide bombers against Somaliland and Ethiopia.

The debate featured prominent figures such as Member of Parliament and former Finance Minister Elmi Mohamud Nur and Dr. Hassan Sheikh Nur, an advisor to the Somali Prime Minister's office.

The discussion focused on last week's Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between Ethiopia and Somaliland, which the Somali government denounced as "illegitimate."

"We have a history of security strife in Somalia with intense fighting ongoing against Al-Shabaab. Now with external threats, is it possible that is improves our internal security and the unity of the Somali people. And specially can we tell the Al-Shabaab to join us and tell them that the jihad has started there and direct them towards Ethiopia since we have also sources that is able to carry out suicide explosions. Can we make use of them?," he asked.

In a different program on Friday, a caller during a call-in program with a UK-based Muslim cleric at the same station, Universal TV studio in London explicitly asked about the permissibility of "assassinating Somaliland President Muse Bihi Abdi" in the Sharia.

Shockingly, the cleric did not intervene or correct the caller but instead commented by saying that "President Muse Bihi has committed "macsiya", an Arabic word for "committing sin" for his involvement in the MOU with Ethiopia.

The public reaction to these statements has been furious, with some calling for immediate corrections and others demanding an investigation.

Universal TV, based in London with a studio in Mogadishu, faced calls from Somalis on social media urging them to retract the statements. While urging UK's Ofcom, the regulator for broadcasting, telecommunications, and postal industries, to investigate the matter as a serious threat of harm against someone.

As of now, Universal TV's management has not responded to queries, and Ofcom has not issued any official response to the calls for an investigation.