More Civilians Arrested for Alleged Links to Ethiopia
Rebels
Garowe Online (Garowe)
Five Somalis who landed at an airport in the country's northern sub-state of
Puntland were arrested Wednesday minutes after they get off an airplane
from neighboring Djibouti, a government official told Radio Garowe.
Yasin Said, the governor of Karkar region in Puntland, told Radio Garowe the
group of five Somalis was arrested by Puntland Intelligence Service (PIS)
officers at Bossaso airport.
The detainees were then loaded onto vehicles and transported towards
Garowe, the capital of Puntland.
But an intervention by a senior government official in Puntland halted the
detainees' trip to Garowe, according to the governor.
"The Security Minister [Abdullahi Said Samatar] gave the order to return the
detainees [back] to Bossaso," Gov. Said, referring to the region's commercial
hub.
The governor of Karkar region, which is located south of Bossaso, said he
accompanied police units to a checkpoint in the northern part of Qardho, the
provincial capital.
Gov. Said stated that he was "displeased" by the detentions, while indicating
to Radio Garowe that such an act only harms the image and security of
Puntland.
Many people in Bossaso, including traditional elders and community leaders,
have condemned the arbitrary arrests of the five Somali civilians.
A Puntland government source said the five detained civilians are accused of
receiving military training in Eritrea and of having alleged links with the
Ogaden National Liberation Front (ONLF), ), an Ethiopian rebel movement
made up of ethnic Somali fighters.
A community source privately told Garowe Online that local activists
contacted Puntland Vice President Hassan Dahir Afqura, pleading with him to
stop PIS agents from transferring the detainees over to the Ethiopian
government.
But the Vice President said that he can do nothing in the matter, since a
"third hand" was directly involved in the arrests.
The Puntland leader, Gen. Adde Muse, was then contacted in Addis Ababa,
where he has been staying for a number of weeks for reasons undisclosed to
the public.
Last month, PIS agents in Garowe arrested and handed over to Ethiopian
intelligence services two politicians with the ONLF.
Days later, a group of eight civilians were detained by the PIS and later
transferred to Ethiopian authorities.
International human rights groups, including Amnesty International, have
accused the Ethiopian government of committing war crimes in Somalia and
torturing domestic opponents of Prime Minister Meles Zenawi.
Rebels
Garowe Online (Garowe)
Five Somalis who landed at an airport in the country's northern sub-state of
Puntland were arrested Wednesday minutes after they get off an airplane
from neighboring Djibouti, a government official told Radio Garowe.
Yasin Said, the governor of Karkar region in Puntland, told Radio Garowe the
group of five Somalis was arrested by Puntland Intelligence Service (PIS)
officers at Bossaso airport.
The detainees were then loaded onto vehicles and transported towards
Garowe, the capital of Puntland.
But an intervention by a senior government official in Puntland halted the
detainees' trip to Garowe, according to the governor.
"The Security Minister [Abdullahi Said Samatar] gave the order to return the
detainees [back] to Bossaso," Gov. Said, referring to the region's commercial
hub.
The governor of Karkar region, which is located south of Bossaso, said he
accompanied police units to a checkpoint in the northern part of Qardho, the
provincial capital.
Gov. Said stated that he was "displeased" by the detentions, while indicating
to Radio Garowe that such an act only harms the image and security of
Puntland.
Many people in Bossaso, including traditional elders and community leaders,
have condemned the arbitrary arrests of the five Somali civilians.
A Puntland government source said the five detained civilians are accused of
receiving military training in Eritrea and of having alleged links with the
Ogaden National Liberation Front (ONLF), ), an Ethiopian rebel movement
made up of ethnic Somali fighters.
A community source privately told Garowe Online that local activists
contacted Puntland Vice President Hassan Dahir Afqura, pleading with him to
stop PIS agents from transferring the detainees over to the Ethiopian
government.
But the Vice President said that he can do nothing in the matter, since a
"third hand" was directly involved in the arrests.
The Puntland leader, Gen. Adde Muse, was then contacted in Addis Ababa,
where he has been staying for a number of weeks for reasons undisclosed to
the public.
Last month, PIS agents in Garowe arrested and handed over to Ethiopian
intelligence services two politicians with the ONLF.
Days later, a group of eight civilians were detained by the PIS and later
transferred to Ethiopian authorities.
International human rights groups, including Amnesty International, have
accused the Ethiopian government of committing war crimes in Somalia and
torturing domestic opponents of Prime Minister Meles Zenawi.
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