By Asha Elmi - Reporter
MOGADISHU, 7 October 2026 – Former President Sharif Sheikh Ahmed said Wednesday his recent trip to the United Arab Emirates was for family reasons and should not be used as a pretext to target opposition figures, as he accused the government of creating obstacles to political talks expected this month.
Sharif said talks expected in October have faced provocations and preparations for conflict by the government, whose term he said had expired.
"What you heard was that a meeting was supposed to take place this October. Obstacles have been created for that meeting. Among those obstacles are the provocations and preparations for war that you have heard about, which the government whose term has expired is carrying out because they want to confront the opposition," he said.
He said the government had been engaged in preparations for conflict since June 4 and had not abandoned them.
Sharif said the situation was particularly concerning because, in his view, fighting was already taking place in some federal member states while the government was seeking to undermine others.
"The absurdity is that you have destroyed the federal member states, fighting is taking place, and you are trying to destroy others, while now you want to bring the fighting to the capital city," he said.
He said the political dispute was ultimately about the electoral process, accusing the government of seeking to take control of the elections.
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"We are warning about it, and we are monitoring what is happening. We are monitoring the ongoing movements and preparations," he said, warning against further conflict in Mogadishu.
Sharif dismissed what he described as false propaganda being used to justify action against opposition figures.
"It is well known that I live in the UAE. I stayed for three days, and my children live there. I went for family matters. I have always lived there and have always travelled there," he said.
"It cannot be used as a reason to target people in the opposition who are standing for respect for the constitution of this country and agreement on the elections," he added.
His remarks came six days after Defence Minister Ahmed Moallim Fiqi said in a Facebook post that people he described as individuals claiming to be politicians had held meetings in Abu Dhabi with Sudan's Rapid Support Forces, which is fighting Sudan's army.
Fiqi did not specifically identify those individuals as opposition figures in his statement.