Mogadishu, Somalia – Somalia’s Justice Minister, Hassan Moalim, has come under fire after comments suggesting that military officers who served under former President Mohamed Farmajo were deliberately sent to the frontlines, where many have since died or disappeared.
In a speech on Tuesday, Moalim, a close ally of president Hassan Sheikh Mohamud appeared to imply that officers accused of cracking down on opposition protests during Farmajo’s administration were systematically deployed to combat zones, preventing them from returning to their previous roles.
“The ruling party, UPD, ensured that all those officers who were involved in suppressing protests and firing bullets at demonstrators and women were sent to the front. Since then, UPD made sure none of them had a chance to harass or prosecute people ever again,” Moalim said.
His remarks have fueled widespread criticism, with many on social media interpreting them as an admission of targeted reprisals.
Some opposition figures and analysts have described the deaths of former government officers in battle as “calculated revenge killings” rather than ordinary wartime casualties.
Since President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud’s government took office, there has been a sharp increase in the mysterious deaths of key military and police officers, some killed by landmines, others in combat.
The pattern has led to growing speculation of politically motivated purges within the security forces.
Meanwhile, Moalim’s remarks have intensified suspicions that the ruling party has been orchestrating a systematic and covert “purge by death” campaign against officers perceived as loyal to the former administration.
Some have interpreted his speech as an implicit acknowledgment of a deliberate scheme behind the unexplained deaths.
Government officials have not publicly addressed the controversy, and there has been no immediate response from the security agencies regarding the matter.
