Hargeysa, Somaliland, July 25, 2009 (SL Times) – July 17 was the twentieth anniversary of the Jezira massacre in which 47 innocent individuals were butchered by Siyad Barre’s troops in Mogadishu. Many of those murdered were doctors, teachers, students and businessmen, and their only was that they were of Somaliland origin. It was an ugly display of the worst type of ethnic cleansing and was committed in the name of the state of Somalia by its then ruler Siyad Barre. Here are excerpts from a letter submitted to Haatuf newspaper by Jamal Hussein whose father was among the people who were murdered:
On 17, 1989 which was a Sunday, the Red Berets troops of the Somali armed forces began to forcibly enter houses belonging to people who were of Isaq origin in
the neighborhoods of Madina and Hodan. Fourty seven males were rounded up in this operation and were taken to Jezira beach where they were shot, among them eight members of my family. Miraculously, one of the victims, Muse Omar Mire (Awil) survived his wounds and lived to tell about the horror that took place. The order for the massacre was given by Maslah Siyad Barre and was executed by General Canjeex.
I urge Somaliland people to strengthen their unity, not to forget this and other massacres that were committed against the people of Somaliland, and to work on bringing the perpetrators to justice. I say to the human rights organizations, you are not doing your job because the people who committed that heinous crime live in your countries as asylums and refugees.
 

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