Somalia: Somaliland leader sacks minister for critical comments

[Koora-Tuunshe]

Fuaad who used to march the secessionist militia into his own region is fired for only impugning the Riyale fiefdom on corruption, the invasion of Sool and other related issues.

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HARGEISA, Somalia Apr 4 (Garowe Online) - The Rural Development Minister in the government of Somalia's breakaway region of Somaliland was officially relieved of duty on Thursday, according to a decree issued from the office of Somaliland President Dahir Riyale.

 

Mr. Fuad Adan Adde, the former Somaliland Rural Development Minister, was ordered to respectfully transfer his authority over to the Deputy Minister effective April 3.

 

The Somaliland leader's decree said Mr. Fuad Adan Adde had used repeatedly language that is inappropriate for a government minister.

 

"On several occasions, the President [of Somaliland] did not take steps when these violations occurred," the presidential decree stated.

 

An independent journalist in the breakaway region's capital, Hargeisa, tells Garowe Online that Mr. Fuad Adan Adde was very critical of the Somaliland government during a recent television interview.

 

According to the journalist, the former Rural Development Minister criticized the Riyale government for mismanaging funds allocated to the region of Sool, Mr. Fuad Adan Adde's home region.

 

The former Minister was also very critical of Somaliland troops in Sool region, since the bulk of the Somaliland military force in Sool hail from other regions.

 

During the interview, Mr. Fuad Adan Adde expressed his displeasure with six new regions created by President Riyale, saying that the regions divided the people into clans. [ Full story]

 

Locals in Sool region where the presence of Somaliland troops remains a controversy remember Mr. Fuad Adan Adde as a vocal supporter of Somaliland' s expansion into the region of Sool.

 

Breakaway Somaliland has been fighting for control over Sool region since 2002 with the rival sub-state of Puntland, which claims the region's inhabitants share clan ties with Puntland.

 

In October 2007, Somaliland troops successfully dislodged Puntland security forces from the Sool regional capital of Las Anod.

 

Source: Garowe Online