Newly appointed mayor for Mogadishu Abdirahman Omar Osman is seen at a past event in Mogadishu, Somalia in this picture taken October 17, 2017. Picture taken October 17, 2017. REUTERS/Feisal Omar

KAMPALA (Reuters) - Somali President Mohamed Abdullahi sacked the mayor of the capital Mogadishu and appointed his information minister to replace him on Sunday.

The president, in a decree, named Abdirahman Omar Osman as the new mayor, replacing Taabit Abdi Mohamed. The president’s office did not give a reason for Mohamed’s dismissal.

Local media reported on Saturday that Mohamed and Prime Minister Hassan Ali Khaire did not get on, but it was unclear whether that was the reason for Mohamed’s removal from the post.

“After deliberation with the prime minister and interior minister, the Somali president appointed Abdirahman Omar Osman as the new mayor,” a statement on the Somali government website said.

Mogadishu residents said security forces had entered the mayor’s office on Saturday night and took control of it. They also closed most roads in the city and they were still blocked on Sunday.

The information minister could not be immediately reached for comment.

Somalia has been mired by security problems since 1991 when war lords toppled dictator Mohamed Siad Barre.

Backed by the African Union force AMISOM, the government is struggling to defeat an Islamist insurgency by the al Shabaab group.

Al Shabaab wants to topple the government and establish its own rule based on its interpretation of sharia law.</s>The central government is opposed to efforts to give Mogadishu more autonomy. — Reuters picMOGADISHU, Jan 21 — Somalia’s president fired the mayor of the capital Mogadishu today, in an apparent bid to defuse moves towards greater autonomy for the city.

President Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed named current information minister Abdirahman Omar Osman to the post of Mogadishu mayor and governor of the Banadir administration, the region that includes the city, according to a statement from his office.

Osman replaces Thabit Abdi Mohamed who has served just nine months in office.

Immediately after the mayor’s firing, government security forces were deployed across Mogadishu to forestall any potential protest against the move.

Earlier, Mohamed’s supporters in the city council had nominated him to head an autonomous Banadir administration, hoping to secure for the city and surrounding area equal status to Somalia’s six regional states, which have their own presidents and enjoy a greater degree of autonomy.

The central government is opposed to any such efforts.

The row started earlier this month when the mayor called for a conference to discuss the future status of Banadir region, against the will of the president, who is better known by his nickname Farmajo. — AFP</s>The president, in a decree, named Abdirahman Omar Osman as the new mayor, replacing Taabit Abdi Mohamed. The president’s office did not give a reason for Mohamed’s dismissal.

Local media reported on Saturday that Mohamed and Prime Minister Hassan Ali Khaire did not get on, but it was unclear whether that was the reason for Mohamed’s removal from the post.

“After deliberation with the prime minister and interior minister, the Somali president appointed Abdirahman Omar Osman as the new mayor,” a statement on the Somali government website said.

Mogadishu residents said security forces had entered the mayor’s office on Saturday night and took control of it. They also closed most roads in the city and they were still blocked on Sunday.

The information minister could not be immediately reached for comment.

Somalia has been mired by security problems since 1991 when war lords toppled dictator Mohamed Siad Barre.

Backed by the African Union force AMISOM, the government is struggling to defeat an Islamist insurgency by the al Shabaab group.

Al Shabaab wants to topple the government and establish its own rule based on its interpretation of sharia law.</s>Somalia's president fired the mayor of the capital Mogadishu on Sunday, in an apparent bid to defuse moves towards greater autonomy for the city.

Osman replaces Thabit Abdi Mohamed who has served just nine months in office.

Immediately after the mayor's firing, government security forces were deployed across Mogadishu to forestall any potential protest against the move.

Earlier, Mohamed's supporters in the city council had nominated him to head an autonomous Banadir administration, hoping to secure for the city and surrounding area equal status to Somalia's six regional states, which have their own presidents and enjoy a greater degree of autonomy.

The central government is opposed to any such efforts.

The row started earlier this month when the mayor called for a conference to discuss the future status of Banadir region, against the will of the president, who is better known by his nickname Farmajo.
President Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed fires Taabit Abdi Mohamed as mayor of Mogadishu and replaces him with his information minister, Abdirahman Omar Osman.