The leader of the Ethiopian Somali region Abdi Mohamud Omar has resigned and handed over power.
The region’s Minister for Information Idris Ismail confirmed this to the BBC.
Omar’s decision to step down follows days of tension and clashes in the Somali region after the government deployed soldiers there.
Ethnic Somalis in the eastern Ethiopian city of Jigjiga were reported to be leaving amid growing violence.
Abdi Mohamoud Omar is accused of creating a local security unit that has created tension in the area.
This has sparked fighting between Somali and Oromo communities in the region.
Over the weekend Ethiopian soldiers clashed with these local security forces the country’s eastern Somali region.
Both set of troops exchanged gunshots. The clashes on Saturday were as a result of attempts to arrest regional officials.
The soldiers according to Reuters report were deployed in the province’s capital Jijiga on Friday evening. That triggered the conflict who thought their job was threatened.
Jigjiga is the administrative centre of the country’s Somali region.
Violence in Jigjiga and other parts of the city has left several people dead.
Source: Africafeeds.com
