Abdirashid Ali Sheik

"Somalia stands at a dangerous juncture. The dismantling of our judiciary is a direct threat to the rule of law." Former Prime Minister Hassan Ali Khaire accused Somalia's President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud of launching an "assault on the Supreme Court" and attempting to arrest Chief Justice Bashe Yusuf Ahmed, hours after the court ruled his term extension unlawful and declared the chief justice's dismissal null and void. A senior judge told BBC Somali that government troops deployed around the Supreme Court on Thursday and that Bashe was ordered to leave the premises. The court's Facebook page, used to publish rulings, was also taken offline. AFP said it could not independently verify the troop deployment, though photographs circulating in Somali media appeared to show armed personnel inside the court compound. On Thursday the Supreme Court ruled that constitutional amendments extending the presidential term could not apply retroactively to Mohamud's current mandate, which it said expired on 15 May. It ordered an electoral framework within 30 days and elections within 90 days, and said the president had no unilateral authority to remove the chief justice. Somalia's presidency and @HassanSMohamud had not publicly responded to the rulings or the troop claims as of Friday evening.