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. 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.
President Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed fires Taabit Abdi Mohamed as mayor of Mogadishu and replaces him with his information minister, Abdirahman Omar Osman.