Puntland president sacks officials after deadly attack on presidential guard

Hiiraan Online
Monday September 24, 2018

BOSSASO (HOL) – The president of the semiautonomous state of Puntland in northern Somalia fired a senior army commander and the governor of a key region on Monday with immediate effect amidst public criticism over the security lapse in the region.

The dismissal of Brigadier Farah Galangoli who was in charge of the security of Nugal, Puntland’s most important region and economic hub came shortly after suspected militants opened fire on the presidential guard during a visit by president Abdiweli Mohamed Ali on Monday, killing one soldier.

Two people have also been injured in the attack in Bossaso, the region’s commercial hub.

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Though parts of the region have seen more attacks than the latest in the port city which has rarely seen militants attacks reveals a stark psychological shift among the region’s population, alarmed by Monday’s attack in Bossaso now demanding public officials pay with their jobs over security lapses.

The angry mood that led president Ali to replace the commander also saw him sack Omar Abdullahi Faraweyne, the governor of the same region where the sacked commander was in charge of.

While no group has claimed responsibility, the attack bore the hallmarks of the IS-linked fighters based in the mountainous areas in Puntland that have carried out such attacks before.

In recent years, fighters linked to the so-called Islamic State group based in Puntland have stepped up attacks against security forces in the region in an attempt to extend their rule.

The attacks that largely targeted army bases have killed a significant number of soldiers and forced thousands of people to flee their homes, largely in remote areas in the region.

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