Visiting KULMIYE Delegation Under Siege in Gabiley

Gabiley (SL Times) - Police in Gabiley have placed a visiting KULMIYE delegation under siege for nearly 7 hours. Members of the delegation represented KULMIYE party supporters in Buroa.

The delegation came to Hargeisa a few days ago from Buroa in an expression of solidarity with party activists in the western parts of the country. Responding to an invitation for lunch from local KULMIYE party leaders, the delegation arrived in Gabiley around 2 pm. As lunch was being served under trees in a large Hotel compound, the visitors and their local hosts saw themselves surrounded by policemen.

The deputy commander of Gabiley police told the KULMIYE party members present in the Hotel compound that none of them would be allowed to leave. At about 4:30 pm, the visitors were allowed to leave the lunch tables and entered the hotel rooms. However, they were barred from leaving the hotel premises.

According to KULMIYE officials, the delegation and local KULMIYE supporters decided to abort the visit and return to Hargeisa so as to avoid an unnecessary confrontation with the police.

It was not clear yet what had prompted the Gabiley police to lay siege for about 7 hours to a peaceful assembly of people. Paraphrasing Siyad Barre’s former police officers, Somaliland's policemen in the capital Hargeisa were noticed in recent days telling motorists at night to go to sleep, sometimes as early as 10 pm.

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