Armchair Politician Posted December 23, 2007 http://www.garoweonline.com/artman2/publish/Somalia_27/Somalia_Governor_flees_region_after_insurgent _death_threats.shtml GALKAYO, Somalia Dec 22 (Garowe Online) - The governor of Somalia's Galgadud region in the central part of the country fled the provincial capital Dhusamareb on Saturday following death threats he received from armed groups opposed to the country's transitional government. Governor Abdulkadir "Sufi" Elmi Salaad and the region's police commander, Col. Omar Hassan, arrived in the city of Galkayo later today where they were welcomed by Puntland regional government officials. The Galgadud governor and police commander told reporters in Galkayo that they left Dhusamareb after receiving threatening phone calls and letters from groups associated with the Islamic Courts. Clan elders advised Galgadud officials to leave the region for their own personal safety, local sources said. Galgadud is the home region of Sheikh Hassan Dahir Aweys, the Islamists' supreme leader. Several senior Islamic Courts officials also hail from Galgadud region. A small contingent Ethiopian troops are based in Guri El town, southeast of Dhusamareb. Sources said other Galgadud officials have secretly left Dhusamareb to undisclosed locations. Islamist guerrillas waging war on the government and its Ethiopian backers have attacked government forces in several regions in recent weeks, including Galgadud, Hiran and Bay. Source: Garowe Online Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Armchair Politician Posted December 23, 2007 First Gedo, and the Jubbas, then Lower Shabelle, then Bula Barde and now Dusamareb. Looks as though Bakool will be next what with the fighting between rival factions. Puntland is now too occupied with its own problems to involve itself further in the south as well. That leaves Dabaged's fiefdom of Beletweyne, Shatigadud's fiefdom of Baidoa and Mohamed Dheere's shaky police state in Jowhar and Mogadishu. No tribal or grassroots support left really. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites