If Al Shabaab terrorists are not eliminated from the Sool region, they are a threat to the countries of Somaliland, Djibouti and Ethiopia, he warns
By M.A. Egge
The chief Commander of the National Army Major General Nuh Ismail Tani has revealed that terrorist groups that were previously in the region have moved to the city of Lasanood and they suspect that they will go to the neighboring countries of Ethiopia and Djibouti.
Commander Nuh who spoke to the media on Friday in the Sool region explained the recent history of the city of Lasanood, and how the violent groups have always attacked the leaders of Somaliland, such as the former president H.E. Dahir Rayaale Kahin.
He said in 2002, a delegation led by former President Dahir Rayale Kaahin visited Lasanood and was attacked upon arrival by Puntland militia who took over the region.
He recalled that when the national army came to the outskirts of the city of Lasanood and the circumstances surrounding it, in 2007 was the table turned and the battles to secure the region started.
“Starting from the position we are to around Boholah Xargaga were battles fought between the National Army and the Puntland Army that saw the region secured fully by Somaliland four years.
As for the reconstruction of the city of Lasanod and the role of the government and the army, he said,
“The city was in a dilapidated state when it returned to the hands of the government, but it was reconstructed and good progress was made to restore and prosper the infrastructural services in all aspects such as hospitals, schools, and roads.
Commander Nuh said that under the Somaliland administration, the development of the town of Lasanood leaped and surpassed a hundred times what it was previously during the regime of Siad Barre.
“The community acknowledges the economical development made in Lasanood when the army secured peace, and both the government and the residents invested and registered ample progress.
Commander Nuh said that, “the presence of the largest number of troops in the region has led to the majority of the economy in the region and its cities prosper, but unfortunately, groups with other interests are destroying the security and development of the region”.
“Unfortunately, the terrorist groups al-Shabaab and the Puntland administration have come to fight in the region, the local youth who are the residents of the region are retreating, but other groups are leading the fight, some from the south”, he said.
He continued, “The terrorist groups that were expelled from the south and the Puntland administration that wants to take control of the Sool region are fighting behind the curtain with their weapons and support, and we have captured some of their soldiers and are pursuing them”.
Major Gen Nuh Tani said that if Al Shabaab terrorists are not eliminated from the Sool region, they will be a threat to Somaliland, Djibouti and Ethiopia.
“They used to be in Buhoodle and now they have come to the Lasanood, and the community in the region can’t do anything about it. Recently, Abdi Madoobe openly termed them kaffirs and swore to establish an Islamic state in the area”, he said.
“We are protecting the security of the Horn of Africa, and we are preventing terrorism from spreading in the countries of Djibouti and Ethiopia, and it is difficult for the national army to take action and remove them because of fear of destroying the city with its people”, said the general.
“Lasanod society is our people, the people and the country are at peace, and we are for them, but the fighting groups do not spare the community,” said Commander Nuh.
He called upon the insurgents and Puntland administration to desist and refrain from interfering in the security of Somaliland forthwith.
To the residents, he said, “I am telling you that we are protecting your security and the city, as we did in 2007. It is not in your interest to burn the city down, let peace and dialogue take precedence. If we talk we will agree”.
Terrorist members captured by the national army and presented