Garowe, Somalia, 19 February 2008 - Five suspects detained last week in connection with the kidnapping of a foreign-born aid worker in northern Somalia were "born in Somaliland regions," according to a press statement released by the Puntland Ministry of Information.

The statement was signed by Puntland Information Minister Abdirahman Bangah and released on Tuesday, two days after Somaliland President Dahir Riyale said the kidnapping was planned in Puntland.

"We disclose that three of the men [suspects] are from Burao and the remaining two are from Erigavo," the press release read.

Burao and Erigavo are both towns controlled by the Somaliland administration. The German-born aid worker was kidnapped by the five armed suspects in the outskirts of Erigavo on Feb. 12 and safely rescued a day later by Somaliland villagers coordinating with the police.

The press statement had the names of the five suspects currently in Somaliland custody and the sub-clans they belong to.

The suspects staged the kidnapping in protest to "relatives detained for political reasons" by the Somaliland authorities, according to the Puntland information ministry statement.

The statement called on the Riyale administration to "stop entertaining its constituents with falseness."

The rival north Somali sub-regions of Puntland and Somaliland have fought bitter battles over disputed Sool and Sanaag regions since 2002, with Somaliland attempting to secure colonial-era boundaries that ceased to exist following the 1960 union.

Source: Garowe Online