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| Africa Horn |
| Somalia: UAE-funded elite Puntland forces mix with brewing political tension |
| 2023-02-06 |
| [Garowe] In the past hours, the capital city of Puntland ...a region in northeastern Somalia, centered on Garowe in the Nugaal province. Its leaders declared the territory an autonomous state in 1998. Puntland and the equally autonomous Somaliland seem to have avoided the clan rivalries and warlordism that have typified the rest of Somalia, which puts both places high on the list for Islamic subversion... , Garowe, was being attacked by the PMPF forces and tribal men who specially armed by the outgoing President Said Abdullahi Deni from his village. Deni, who went to Bosaso last month, stationed himself at the PMPF station. A reliable source confirmed to Garowe Online that he is issuing military orders from the camp to mix with the political tensions to implement the disputed voter registration in Nugaal region. This comes as the United Arab Emirates officials are in the PMPF camp. Sources tell GO "that Deni's new target is the Nugal region because there are politicians and intellectuals againts his plans to exten term through the controversial local election due to take place this year in parts of Puntland. Last night, The Puntland commando forces' commanders held a presser at their headquarters in Garowe and described the ongoing voter registration as "armed" and called on the current admintsrartion to stop actions that could lead to confrontation. Some of Puntland's political organizations have accused Deni of seeking stay in power beyond his mandate using the "democratization card", and warned of the negative consequences of his attemps. The Countries which fund Puntland democratization program, especially Sweden have been urged to stop supprting the controversial local election. UNDP has provided 3 million dollars through the countries that are funding the voter registration of the disputed local council election, according a person familiar with the matter, who spoke to GO on condition of anonymity. Puntland's current leadership failed in the democratization process after 2021 first manucipal vote saw fraud, irregularities, and manipulations with the electoral body - TPEC registered people in areas where they don not reside. Puntland Maritime Police [PMPF] was established in 2011. Their duty is to secure the coast and fight against piracy. The government of the United Arab Emirates is funding it. But, Saed Abdullahi Deni, the sources say that he has deviated from that path and wants to use them as a tool to score his political goal. |
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