Sunday October 3, 2021
Minister of Information, Osman Abukar Dubbe (L) and Minister of Justice, Abdikadir Mohamed Nur (R) - FIE PHOTO
Mogadishu (HOL) - Somalia's federal government has condemned the breakaway region of Somaliland for forcibly repatriating close to 700 people - including women and children - from their homes in Las Anod to the Mudug region on Sunday, saying that the Somaliland authorities have violated cultural traditions.
Somali Minister of Information Osman Abukar Dubbe said he was deeply saddened by the deportation of Somalis in Las Anod and called on the people of Las Anod to preserve their Somali identity.
"The ongoing deportation of Somalis from Las Anod saddens me. The people of Las Anod have always had a tradition of hospitality and Somaliness. I hope they will preserve that good tradition, and the Somali people around them can feel safe," said Somalia's Information Minister Osman Dubbe.
Somalia's Minister of Justice, Abdikadir Mohamed Nur, also spoke about the deportation, saying that Somaliland's deportation of people from southern Somalia, especially in the Bay and Bakool regions, was unfortunate.
The justice minister said he was disheartened by the deportation of Somalis from Las Anod, saying the move was new to the culture and traditions of ethnic Somali's.
"I call on the intellectuals, clerics, scholars, traditional elders, human rights organizations and the people of Las Anod not to remain silent about this heinous act and to play their part in resolving this issue," said the Somali Minister of Justice.
Somaliland police conducted a door-to-door operation on Saturday and rounded up hundreds of people who originally hail from southern Somalia, citing security concerns in the area. Authorities took the people to Abdi Bile stadium, where they were then forced onto lorries by armed security and taken to Galkayo.