ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia โ Ethiopia on Friday said a senior figure with the rebel Ogaden National Liberation Front has willingly surrendered, days after the group accused neighboring Somaliaโs security forces of kidnapping and forcibly extraditing him.
Ethiopia foreign ministry spokesman Meles Alem told The Associated Press that Somalia โplayed a facilitation roleโ in the surrender of Abdikarin Sheikh Muse.
The incident involving the ethnic Somali rebel leader has sparked outrage in Somalia, with some accusing the government of violating the constitution, which bars the extradition of Somali citizens to another country. Somaliaโs government has not confirmed the extradition, and the intelligence chief has called it a โsensitive matter.โ
โWe want an explanation from the government and which must give clarifications on who exactly has extradited the Somali national to the enemy by those who were supposed to protect him,โ said Zakariye Haji Mohamud, a Somali lawmaker.
It is not clear what nationality Muse holds. The Ethiopian ministry spokesman said he has Ethiopian citizenship.
In a statement issued on Wednesday, the rebel group said Abdikarin was arrested in the Somalia town of Galkayo, where he went to bring his young niece to the capital, Mogadishu, for medical treatment.
