Hiiraan Online
Monday, December 7, 2015
GALKAYO (HOL) – Two rival regional forces that battled for the control of Galkayo town have entered into a truce brokered by Somali prime minster as a step towards an enduring end to weeks of deadly fighting, Somali official said.
Abdirahman Odowa, Somalia’s interior minister confirmed that Puntland and its neighbouring Galmudug state have withdrawn troops and armaments from the battlefields, a sign that the two sides have ended the conflict which displaced thousands of residents from their homes.
The announcements comes days after the two sides signed a peace deal which was repeatedly violated as the two sides resumed fighting until the two regions’ presidents have declared the end of the fighting on Friday in a meeting at the town’s airport.
Speaking to the Voice of America’s Somali service on Sunday, Mr. Odowa has voiced optimism over the deal which observers called ‘fragile’ given the two regions’ past history of repeated clashes.
Endorsing the truce, Abdweli Mohamed Ali, Puntland’s president and his Galmudug counterpart Abdikarim Hussein Guled promised the observation of the ceasefire after IGAD’s Somalia representative Mohamed Abdi Affey warned war crimes over the clashes which he said caused ‘collateral’ damage that killed ‘many’ civilians.
The clashes that involved trucks mounted with machine guns and anti-aircraft rockets erupted after an argument involving the construction of a new road by Puntland in the town, which was halted by Galmudug forces.
Galkayo town is divided into two zones, where the northern portion forms part of Puntland state, while its southern part is governed by the Galmudug administration.