‘Major fighting’ in Puntland between govt forces and insurgents
Posted on March 16, 2016 by Editor in Special Report
Security forces in Somalia’s northern Puntland state clashed with armed insurgents on March 16th in parts of Nugal region. The fighting is ongoing and local media has been unable to confirm any casualties. The battle has been confirmed and described as “major fighting” between security forces and the insurgents, with heavy weapons being used in remote coastal towns along Puntland’s eastern shore.
On March 14th, Somali and international media reported the arrival of hundreds of insurgents — with figures ranging from 200 to 1,000 fighters — in the coastal town of Gara’ad, of North Mudug region. The fighters have been described as members of the Al Shabaab insurgent group. However, some reports say that the fighters might be members of a splinter group associated with the so-called Islamic State (ISIS).
For months, there have been reports of infighting among Al Shabaab militants over allegiance to Al Qaeda or ISIS, with Puntland-based cleric Abdikadir Mumin becoming the first Somali militant to openly declare allegiance to ISIS, in Oct. 2015.
The arrival and latest developments
In an unprecedented development, heavily armed insurgents landed by boats in Gara’ad coastal town. They reportedly met with local community leaders and claimed that they were there to “fix” their boats and would “move on within a week”.
However, witnesses reported the arrival of more boats and other insurgent boats that continued to travel farther north, towards the coastal towns of Eyl and Beyla in Puntland.
It is not clear where the boats originated. The VOA reports that Al Shabaab insurgents forcefully seized boats over the past two weeks near Harardheere and Hobyo coastal towns, in South Mudug region of Galmudug administration.
Puntland blames the Federal Government
Abdi Hersi Qarjab, Puntland’s security minister, told reporters on March 15th in the state capital Garowe that Puntland troops “would defend the state” and blamed the Federal Government of Somalia for complicity in the arrival of hundreds of insurgents along Puntland’s eastern coast.
Abdirahman Mohamed Odowa, the Federal Government’s Minister of Interior, described Puntland’s public statement is “unfortunate”, stating that “all Somalis know the Federal Government’s campaign against Al Shabaab”.
Political tensions between the Federal Government and Puntland has been heightened over the past two months, after Puntland rejected the Federal Government’s 2016 election proposal. For years, the Federal Government and Puntland have disagreed over federalism, power-sharing and oil, impeding national recovery as Somalia struggles to restore national order and cohesion after decades of conflict and political fragmentation.
Conflicting situation
Some reports suggest that there are conflicting developments regarding the arrival of insurgents in parts of Puntland coast. Some Puntland troops are militarily engaged in armed confrontation against the insurgents in Garmal coastal town approximately 80km north of Eyl in Nugal region, while there is an ongoing military standoff near Godobjiran town in Nugal region, between Puntland troops and a second group of insurgents.
However, unconfirmed reports say that there is a parallel development with the group of insurgents near Gara’ad coastal town of Mudug region, who are reportedly “in talks” with local community elders and government officials to “surrender” to Puntland authorities. So far, no fighting has been reported in or near Gara’ad coastal town.
Puntland Information Minister Mohamud Hassan So’adde told a press conference in Garowe on March 16th that Puntland troops “demanded that the insurgents surrender” before commencing military operations against the insurgents.
The ongoing military crisis involving hundreds of militants landing in the state’s coastal towns is unprecedented and has galvanized the government and local clans to fight against the insurgents. Meanwhile, a drought emergency is taking place in parts of Puntland and Somaliland, creating more concerns for rural communities affected by conflict and drought.
Puntland President Abdiweli Mohamed Ali Gaas is traveling to the region via Ethiopia after a weeks-long overseas trip to the U.S. and Canada, where he met with U.S. State Department officials and Somali Diaspora members in Minneapolis, Columbus, Toronto, and Washington, D.C. President Gaas has not yet addressed the media about the ongoing security crisis in the state but is expected to do so upon his return to the region.
Puntland is located in the country’s northeast with shores along the Indian Ocean and Gulf of Aden, across from Yemen. Al Shabaab insurgents based in the Galgala mountains, west of Bossaso port, have waged a war against Puntland since 2007. However, the region has largely been spared the insurgent violence in south-central Somalia due to local governance efforts commencing with Puntland state’s inception in 1998.
Source: Somali Review
http://somalireview.com/2016/03/major-f ... nsurgents/
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