Hundreds of troops loyal to Somalia's Prime Minister Mohammed Hussein Roble on Tuesday camped near the residence of his political rival President Mohammed Abdullahi Mohammed, a day after the president tried to suspend the prime minister.
Mr Roble has called Mr Mohammed's plan to suspend him a coup attempt. The US, which operates in Somalia against militants, called on all sides to avoid escalation but also appeared to back the prime minister.
The security forces had taken no action by Tuesday afternoon, but the gathering spurred fears of a potential clash between forces loyal to the two men.
"Troops have camped in our village. If the notorious Villa Somalia [presidential palace] starts war then there will be crossfire," said Canab Osman, a mother of seven who operates a grocery shop in a nearby district of the capital Mogadishu.
Another resident and local elder, Farah Ali, said security forces that had amassed in the area were fitting pick-up trucks with artillery weapons.
Somalia, where no central government has held broad authority for 30 years, is in the midst of a protracted indirect election process to choose new leadership, repeatedly held up amid confrontation between Mr Mohammed and Mr Roble.
In April, an attempt by the president to extend his four-year term by two years led army factions loyal to each man to briefly seize rival positions in Mogadishu.
The US State Department African Affairs Bureau said in a tweet late on Monday that it was prepared to act against those obstructing Somalia's path to peace.
"The attempted suspension of Mr Roble is alarming and we support his efforts for rapid and credible elections," the bureau said. "All parties must desist from escalatory actions and statements."
In suspending the prime minister, Mr Mohammed accused Mr Roble of stealing land owned by the Somali National Army and interfering with a defence ministry investigation.
In response, Mr Roble said the president's action was unconstitutional and aimed at derailing the election. He ordered security forces to start taking orders from him, rather than Mr Mohammed.
The months-long dispute between the prime minister and the president has distracted the government from fighting an insurgency against Al Qaeda-linked group Al Shabaab.
Calls for president to step down
On Tuesday the Council of Presidential Candidates, a group of politicians who plan to contest the election including two former presidents, called for Mr Mohammed to step down "as soon as possible in order to end the crisis".
Mr Mohammed and Mr Roble have accused each other of holding up the parliamentary elections, which began on November 1 and were supposed to be completed by December 24. As of Saturday, only 24 of 275 lower house representatives had been elected.
Under Somalia's indirect electoral process, regional councils are meant to choose a senate. Clan elders are then meant to pick members of the lower house, which would then choose a new president at a date yet to be fixed.
ICC men's cricketer of the year
2004 - Rahul Dravid (IND) ; 2005 - Jacques Kallis (SA) and Andrew Flintoff (ENG); 2006 - Ricky Ponting (AUS); 2007 - Ricky Ponting; 2008 - Shivnarine Chanderpaul (WI); 2009 - Mitchell Johnson (AUS); 2010 - Sachin Tendulkar (IND); 2011 - Jonathan Trott (ENG); 2012 - Kumar Sangakkara (SL); 2013 - Michael Clarke (AUS); 2014 - Mitchell Johnson; 2015 - Steve Smith (AUS); 2016 - Ravichandran Ashwin (IND); 2017 - Virat Kohli (IND); 2018 - Virat Kohli; 2019 - Ben Stokes (ENG); 2021 - Shaheen Afridi
Low turnout
Two months before the first round on April 10, the appetite of voters for the election is low.
Mathieu Gallard, account manager with Ipsos, which conducted the most recent poll, said current forecasts suggested only two-thirds were "very likely" to vote in the first round, compared with a 78 per cent turnout in the 2017 presidential elections.
"It depends on how interesting the campaign is on their main concerns," he told The National. "Just now, it's hard to say who, between Macron and the candidates of the right, would be most affected by a low turnout."
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How to keep control of your emotions
If your investment decisions are being dictated by emotions such as fear, greed, hope, frustration and boredom, it is time for a rethink, Chris Beauchamp, chief market analyst at online trading platform IG, says.
Greed
Greedy investors trade beyond their means, open more positions than usual or hold on to positions too long to chase an even greater gain. “All too often, they incur a heavy loss and may even wipe out the profit already made.
Tip: Ignore the short-term hype, noise and froth and invest for the long-term plan, based on sound fundamentals.
Fear
The risk of making a loss can cloud decision-making. “This can cause you to close out a position too early, or miss out on a profit by being too afraid to open a trade,” he says.
Tip: Start with a plan, and stick to it. For added security, consider placing stops to reduce any losses and limits to lock in profits.
Hope
While all traders need hope to start trading, excessive optimism can backfire. Too many traders hold on to a losing trade because they believe that it will reverse its trend and become profitable.
Tip: Set realistic goals. Be happy with what you have earned, rather than frustrated by what you could have earned.
Frustration
Traders can get annoyed when the markets have behaved in unexpected ways and generates losses or fails to deliver anticipated gains.
Tip: Accept in advance that asset price movements are completely unpredictable and you will suffer losses at some point. These can be managed, say, by attaching stops and limits to your trades.
Boredom
Too many investors buy and sell because they want something to do. They are trading as entertainment, rather than in the hope of making money. As well as making bad decisions, the extra dealing charges eat into returns.
Tip: Open an online demo account and get your thrills without risking real money.
