At least two people died and three others suffered injuries when a wall collapsed on spectators watching a football game in Hargeisa stadium this afternoon, during the second division game. Torrential rains hit parts of Hargeisa destroying many parts of the city including the stadium.

A witness at stadium said, “There was a heavy downpour. We heard a crash and people trying to escape the scene. I saw two people who were crushed to death and others bleeding, it was horrible scene."

Those injured in the accident were rushed to Hargeisa Hospital and Somalia Report confirmed that one of the victim's injuries are serious.

Hargeisa’s well-worn roads were also rendered impassable. Most parts of the region are experiencing heavy rains during as part of the wet season that runs between April and June.

The National Security Council of Somalia's Transitional Federal Government (TFG) held a meeting at Villa Somalia last night to press charges against some members of parliament (MPs), who publicly criticized President Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmed and his Prime minister Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed (Farmajo).

The alleged MPs are accused of telling the local media that the president and his prime minister are secretly working with al-Shabaab insurgents, who are seen as a proxy of al Qaeda in Somalia and included in US list of terrorist groups, as well as misusing funds given by Sudan and United Arab of Emirates (UAE) to bribe MPs to win the general elections to be held in mid-August.

A junior officer speaking on condition of anonymity to Somalia Report said that Sheikh Sharif convened a meeting senior national security officials behind closed doors and produced a list containing the names of former civil war leaders who are now members of the TFG parliament and asked for arrest warrants against them.

The recently established judicial system states that “a member of parliament cannot be arrested unless he/she commits treason i.e. giving out important government secrets, spying for the enemies and enticing the public against the government for political gains."

If proven guilty, the accused members can lose their seats since their publicized false information can damage the government. Parliament Speaker Sharif Hassan Sheikh Aden is also rumored to be on that list due to well known rift between him and the president.

This will be the first time since the establishment of the TFG that a member of parliament is arrested or charged in court.

The Transitional Federal Government (TFG) chairmen of Bay and Bakool regions, Abdi Fitah Gesey (Bay) and Abdi Mahamed Mayow (Bakol), were arrested by Ethiopian troops in Dolo district on the border between Somalia and Ethiopia on Sunday morning.

According to locals in Dolo, the two men were arrested due to a conflict with Ethiopian troops over the fight against al-shabaab militias.

The conflict arose when the two chairmen proposed to begin fighting against al-shabaab in Bakol region, while the Ethiopian troops are supporting the fight against al-shabaab in Gedo region. When they couldn't agree, Ethiopia ordered the two chairmen and their forces to take part the fighting in Gedo rather than Bakol.

One of the government troops in Dolo said an Ethiopian officer claimed that the two men have a secret relationship with al-shabaab, however, Somalia Report could not confirm this allegation.

It is not the first time the Ethiopian troops in Dolo arrested officials from the TFG. They recently arrested former defense minister Barre Aadan Shire Hiiraale who is currently member of the Somali Parliament.

Transitional Federal Government (TFG) forces late Saturday and early Sunday deserted the strategic western Gedo town of Busar, about 45 kms east of Kenyan border town of Elwak, after a serious rift broke out in the leadership of the TFG over troop and militia payments.

Local residents confirmed that a large number of al-Shabaab retook the town shortly after the TFG forces and local militias vacated the area without a fight.

“On Saturday evening we saw the TFG troops moving to the Celwaq side and hours later al-shabaab fighters entered the village,” a Busar resident told Somalia Report.

Reliable sources contacted by Somalia Report said the disputes resulted in the militias from Garre tribe, one of the largest in the offensive, to vacate frontline positions where al-Shabaab insurgents are in dug less than 600 meters away.

“We are heading back to a village near Elwak. We can't defend the insurgents alone as a clan. Since the Garre militias left the area, we should also leave,” said a Marehan tribal leader with troops in the offensive.

This was confirmed by Omar Mohamed, a local resident, who spoke to our correspondent, "Pro-government officials who were forced out of the village are now stationed near El-wak town."

He added that the fighters have taken up positions in and around the villages, which strategically lie around the main road that connects to Gedo region include El-wak.

Disputes Over Salaries

One TFG official, who requested anonymity, said the rift began to heat up late this week when Garre clansmen, mainly the inhabitants of Elwak, complained of the TFG's management of their salaries.

“It is not a matter of clanism, it is an issue that deals with payment,” said Adan Ibro, an official from the defected militias.

Adan alleged that payments due to the TFG soldiers and militias were stolen by corrupt officials. ”How is it possible that officials loot money for the army? As agreed, every soldier should get his salary monthly,” he complained.

Sources close to the defected soldiers claim that Garre clansmen have been suspicious of their Marehan counterparts in the offensive, as part of a long standing tribal rivalry between the two tribes.

“Everybody was expecting that Garre and Marehan could leave their differences aside and approach their enemy as a united front, but apparently each had different plans for future," ex-army colonel Abdi Issak told Somalia Report.

Abdi believes that the decision to pull out from the frontline amid disputes was correct as al-Shabaab may have paralyze TFG strength in the area. “It is an appropriate decision at this time because al-Shabaab has massed hundreds of fighters while TFG forces in the area are not capable of fighting them without unity.”

The TFG Gedo governor whom Somalia Report contacted refused to comment about the rift.

Abdi Issak says due to salary delays, bankruptcy, and clan diversions, al-Shabaab can benefit from the rift. “Yes, this is the best time for al-Shabaab. They normally send proposals to TFG soldiers at times like this, giving fake promises such as good salary, al-Shabaab regional posts and good accommodations for then and their families.”

Offensive critics say pro-TFG militias in the towns of Dhobley, Diff and Elwak lack a unified strategy over where and what to do after they progress in the offensive because they are made up of of various rival clans whose differences never get resolved.

Hassan Omar, a regional conflict specials in Mogadishu, says until such differences are sorted out the offensive will have limited effect. "We have an enemy which is fierce, which has zero tribal backgrounds. We have to expect that dismantling such a power needs an opponent which is unified,” said Hassan Omar.

Residents Fear Reprisals

The residents of Busar are worried that al-shabaab may take action against them for openly supporting the TFG troops that seized the village three weeks ago.

“We are fearing consequences coming from al-shabaab because we loyally welcomed government troops,” said one of the elders in Busar who spoke to Somalia Report on the condition of anonymity for security reasons.

Most of the village youth have fled from Busar by foot last night, fearing they might be forcibly recruited by the militants.

He added that the fighters have taken positions in and around the villages, which strategically lie around the main road that connects to entire Gedo region include El-wak.

Pro-government force of Ahul-Sunnah Wal-Jamaa backed by Ethiopian is in control of Luuq, 80 km from the Ethiopian border, and Elwaq, a border line town close to Busar.

Adan Adde International Airport security officials stopped 45 Transitional Federal Government (TFG) members of parliament (MPs) from traveling to Nairobi for the National Democratic Institute (NDI) conference this afternoon.

Thirty of the forty-five lawmakers were part of the Presidential Election Parliamentary committee (PEPC) appointed by Parliament Speaker Sharif Hassan Sheikh Adan last month.

They were stopped after the head of the Airport Security and Immigration Department arrived at the airport minutes before takeoff and asked officials to cancel the flight, allegedly at the order of President Sheikh Sheriff Sheikh Hassan and the National Security Council (NSC).

According to Hon. Hared Hersi, one of the lawmakers at the airport who spoke to Somalia Report, they were harassed, and one of the MPs was beaten by the airport security.

“I couldn’t believe we were stopped. We were intimidated. My colleague, Mursal Abdi, was beaten and tortured by the airport security officials," said Hersi. "I strongly believe that the government doesn’t have any authority to stop lawmakers from traveling."

The MPs were picked up from the airport by the speaker, eight hours after they were prevented from leaving the country. The speaker was accompanied by a commander from the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM).

Ongoing Rift Between the President and Speaker

Last month Sheikh Sharif said, “A potential candidate cannot appoint an election committee that is supposed to monitor and regulate presidential elections.”

Although the president never mentioned the speaker’s name, Somali political analysts pointed their fingers toward the parliament speaker who handpicked members of the Election Committee, in what is seen as an attempt to facilitate his way to become the next president. Sheikh Sharif and the speaker openly disagreed over many issues, like the well-publicized rift of how the vote to confirm the newly elected prime minister will be conducted and when the next presidential elections will be held.

As the controversy over the elections continue, analyst say this public showdown between the president and the speaker may lead to a split within the government.

Rashid Abdi, an analyst with International Crisis Group and an expert on Somalia, says this latest incident may lead to the creation of two factions each fighting for legitimacy ahead of August deadline.

Mr. Abdi says he is not surprised that the dispute between the leaders is escalating because "there are no checks and balances since there are no independent institutions to arbitrate on such disputes."

Last Saturday, Somalia Report reported that the National Security Council (NSC) wanted to press charges against MPs after some lawmakers criticized the president and his government, claiming that he is secretly working with al-Shabaab.