His Excellency the president of the Republic of Somaliland, Musa Bihi Abdi, today, slammed ‘state of emergency’ rule on three districts that come under the regional jurisdiction of Sanaag region on the far-eastern part of Somaliland.
The districts that Bill No. 04/042019 affects if so the Houses of the Representatives and the Guurti (Elders) ratify are Erigavo, the regional capital, El Af Wein and Garadag.
El Afwein has seen many revenge killings between two major clans in the area which intensified for the past three or so years. A settlement between the warring factions has been brokered by a voluntary committee of traditional elders, religious clerks and members of the government last year. The district slid back treacherously to something akin to the insecurity of old end of the preceding week and the beginning of this one during which two men died from each side – the latter to avenge the first.
Garadag joined the melee when an armed group from the area killed two officers, Monday, on a stretch of road connecting the district to its nearest district of the under Sool region – Oog.
The two officers, one the commanding officer of Gara’adag’s Custodial Corps, and the other the Deputy Commander of the district’s police forces, were on their way to Hargeisa when they were caught up with by the assailants killing them on the spot.
The officers, the attackers accused, were responsible for the death of one of their own whom they sent to jail in Erigavo who died end of last week under dubious circumstances while in custody.
The president proposed that the three districts be governed under the emergency rule for the next three months.
The military, primarily, will be responsible for regional security and has been given executive orders to bring the area back to order.
Residents, however, were shocked by the president’s decision.
On an area that is already far behind other parts of the unrecognized Republic, martial rule – as they termed it – will only compound the recess under which they were already suffering.
Critics blame the government for trying to put capital punishment on a population whose security it failed to guarantee despite the overwhelming military and other security forces on deploy in the area for the past four to five years.
By way of example, the government neither gave protection to nor took in the last two officers killed leaving the situation go from bad to worse for some five days.
[…] The two officers, one the commanding officer of Gara’adag’s Custodial Corps, and the other the Deputy Commander of the district’s police forces, were on their way to Hargeisa when they were caught up with by the assailants […]