Somalia's Jubbaland ex-security minister escapes from detention

A former security minister in Somalia's regional Jubbaland state has escaped from police detention, according to the country's deputy police commissioner.

Mr Abdirashid Hassan Nur was being held at a facility in the capital, Mogadishu.

Somalia's government accuses Mr Nur of "grave human rights violations and killing civilians in Gedo Region".

"The former Jubbaland Security Minister, Abdirashir Hassan (Janan), this morning escaped from the detention centre. Security agencies are pursuing him in a bid to re-arrest the suspect, who is accused of various crimes. The public should report if they see him," the deputy police commissioner, Zakia Hussen, tweeted.

Mr Nur was arrested on 31 August 2019 at the Aden Adde International Airport in Mogadishu while on transit to Addis Ababa.

His detention was linked to political dispute between the central government and the Jubbaland regional administration over the controversial re-election of Ahmed Mohamed Islam Madobe as Jubbaland president.