Hargeysa, March 17, 2007 (SL. Times) - Somaliland Government announced last Thursday that it has banned air and land travel from Somalia into Somaliland.

According to a circular issued by Somaliland’s Minister for Civil Aviation, Ali Mohamed Waran-adde, the reason for the ban is to prevent a diarrhea outbreak which took place in Somalia, particularly Mogadishu and Bossaso, from spreading to Somaliland. The minister ordered Somaliland’s airline companies and land transportation not to collect passengers from, or, to Somalia, until new information is released by ministry.

According to a BBC international monitoring report which was attributed to HornAfrik, “The Transitional Federal Government of Somalia [TFG] has urged the Somaliland administration to reconsider the decision to ban flights from southern Somalia.”

The circular released by the Ministry of Aviation also stated that anyone who violates the ban will be prosecuted.

The ban became effective on March 17, 2007.

Source: Somaliland Times