History of Puntland
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Puntland considers itself as an autonomous state within Somalia. In 1969, when Somalia's government was toppled in a coup d'état, years of war and chaos followed. An unsuccessful invasion of Ethiopia followed the Soviet Union's change of support from Somalia to Ethiopia, caused by the rise of a pro-Soviet government in Ethiopia. Left without Soviet support, Somalia turned to the United States, which allowed Somalia's self-proclaimed president, Siad Barre, to stay in power through the end of the Cold War in 1991. When the Soviet Union collapsed, American support for the Somali government was withdrawn, and Barre was overthrown.
Following these events, Somalis remained without a strong government, with constant wars ravaging the southern part of Somalia. These events led to the 1991 secession of Somaliland, which in 1960 had enjoyed a few days of independence. Violence continued throughout the country, prompting a United Nations peacekeeping force to be sent to war-torn Somalia. The relief effort ended however on March 3, 1995, almost two years after the Battle of Mogadishu when two American helicopters were shot down and 18 soldiers were killed.
[edit] Autonomy and afterwards
Somalia remained unstable and, in 1998, Puntland declared its autonomy. Although it is a tribal-based separation under the presidency of Abdullahi Yusuf Ahmed (deputy president of the Somali Salvation Democratic Front), it is a nation with clan confederation as one of its top priorities. Since 1998, Puntland has been in territorial disputes with Somaliland over the Sool and Sanaag regions. Yusuf was an army major when he sought political asylum in Ethiopia. He led the first group of resistance fighters belonging to Majeerteen tribe, whose ultimate goal was to free Somalia from dictatorship.
Unlike the secessionist region of Somaliland, Puntland is not trying to obtain international recognition as a nation. It seeks to become a federal division within a united Somalia that is a federal republic. But the two so-called "lands" have one thing in common: they both base their support upon tribal elders and their way of organization along lines based on tribe and kinship. The Somalian capital Mogadishu, and other southern cities, are said to have developed much less than cities in Puntland and Somaliland (e.g. Bosaso, Hargeisa, Las Anod, Garowe, etc.) These two self-declared independent regions obtain their economic and political support from Ethiopia, historically an adversary of Somalia.
Puntland began experiencing political unrest in 2001 when President Ahmed wanted his term to be lengthened. Ahmed and Jama Ali Jama fought for control of the country, which Ahmed won in 2002. Ahmed served as president until October 2004 when he was elected President of Somalia. He was succeeded by Muhammad Abdi Hashi who served until January 2005 when he was defeated for re-election by Parliament, which elected General Mohamud Muse Hersi ("Adde"). In December 2004, Puntland sustained serious damage during the tsunami following the 2004 Indian Ocean Earthquake. The international community has been accused of ignoring Puntland and other African areas where the tsunami struck.
[edit] Recent Events
In November 2006, the Union of Islamic Courts reportedly captured Bandiiradley, a strategically located settlement near Puntland's border with Mudug. However, a spokesman for local warlord Abdi Hassan Awale Qeybdiid claimed that his troops had only made a tactical retreat from the area. Mohamed Mohamud Jama, a Mudug-based spokesman for the Islamic Courts, announced the courts' intention to march on Gaalkacyo, part of which is claimed by Puntland. Heretofore, the courts had avoided making incursions into Puntland.[1] That same month, General Adde announced that he would rule according to Islamic law but in a different way from that of the Islamic Courts in order to avoid "politicizing religion." Adde then announced that Puntland would resist any attack made by the Islamic Courts. [2] by: Maxamed Saciid Xoday
[edit] Notes
- ^ "Islamists 'take key Somali town'", BBC News, BBC, 2006-11-12. Retrieved on 2006-11-13. (English)
- ^ Puntland 'to fight Islamic courts', Al Jazeera, 21 November 2006
