Disputed Taleh District and Potential World Heritage Site
The high court of Garowe in Somalia’s semi-autonomous state of Puntland has today sentenced four Somaliland officials to ten years in prison for creating insecurity and illegal intervention into Puntland’s territories. The officials were part of Somaliland convoy heading to disputed Taleh district in Puntland's Nugal region when they were arrested on August 10, 2011.
The convoy was attacked by Puntland troops in Arroley area which is located between Taleh and Las Anod districts. Two people were killed including Somaliland's chairman of education for Taleh district. Three Somaliland vehicles and 19 people were seized.
Las Anod District Court Commissioiner Salad Ismail Mohamud, Sol education ministry official, Mohamed Ali Artan, Las Anod district court official, Abdirashid Abdullahi, and Said Ali Shire were sentenced to serve ten-year jail terms, according to Nugal Regional Court Commissioner Abdin Nor Jama Hussein.
The court has also sentenced four soldiers serving as armed guards of the officials, Mohamed Abdi Mohamed, Mohamud Ahmed Adan, Mohamed Ali Shire and Mohamed Ahmed Warsame, to five years in jail each.
The court has pardoned one man, whose name has been shortened to Sharmarke, who was among the Somaliland delegates, but was determined to be an innocent civilian.
The court ordered the police to confiscate three vehicles with Somaliland license plates which were seized with the officials.
Somaliland administration has earlier called on Puntland to release the officials unconditionally, and said that the delegates were ambushed, cornered and kidnapped by a group of army bandits from Puntland. Puntland Information Minister Ahmed Ali Askar denied the allegation and said that the delegates violated their territories and were punished accordingly.
The Somaliland delegation wanted to visit disputed Taleh district, which Puntland has proposed to be recognized as a World Heritage Site as it was the headquarters of the Darvish Resistance Movement led by Sayid Mohamed Abdulle Hassan.
This is the first time that a Puntland court has convicted Somaliland officials.
