Mogadishu , Somalia , Aug. 24, 2006 – Polemics continue between authorities of Puntland, the self-proclaimed autonomous region since 1991, and the Islamic Courts, which yesterday threatened to attack if the government of Puntland continues interfering in Somali affairs.

Speaking to the local press, Sheikh Abdirahin Ali Mudey, representative of the information office of the Somali Council of Islamic Courts, stated that there will soon be a response to the support given by Puntland armed elements to Ethiopian and Somali troops that two days ago seized the village of Bandiiradley (70km north of Galkayo, capital of the central Mudug region).

“Puntland must stop acts of provocation and interference that threaten the region, as it should stop its support to Abdi Qeybdid (a powerful leader of a clan defeated and pushed from Mogadishu in June), or else the situation will soon change”, warned Ali Mudey.

In the past weeks, since the Courts began a campaign to extend their influence also in the central-north of Somalia, Puntland authorities took a defensive stand, threatening armed interventions, deploying troops along the border and arresting in its territory dozens of people accused of connections to the Islamic Courts of Mogadishu.

Meanwhile, the Eritrean government has expressed itself contrary to the deployment of African troops in Somalia, as recently announced by representatives of the IGAD, the inter-governmental regional authority of the Horn of Africa.

In a statement, the Information ministry underlined that a mission in Somalia could jeopardize attempts to restore calm in Mogadishu and the rest of the country, referring to the Courts, of which Asmara is among the main supporters.

The statement emphasizes that the only objective of the mission is to “carry out the political agenda of the government party in Ethiopia and nothing more”.

Source: Spero News