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Federal Somali gov’t orders airlines halt to daily flights from Hargeisa and Mogadishu

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MOGADISHU—The relationship between the Mogadishu based federal government of Somalia and the break-away region of Somaliland is set to hit a rock once again following  a directive by the federal government seeking to halt daily flights between the capital of Somaliland, Hargeisa and Mogadishu.

In a press statement Monday, Gen. Abdullaahi Gaafow, the Transport minister in the federal government ordered airline companies that ply the Mogadishu-Hargeisa route to halt operating between the two Somali cities. The airlines that operate along that route are always in business and this particular directive is set to receive opposition from the airline managers.

The directive by the federal government follows an earlier directive by the Somaliland administration that requires Somalis from the Southern part of the country to carry along special visa requirement locally known as “Go Home” which allows them to gain entry into Somaliland, the northern part of Somalia. That decision was heavily criticized by the Somalis who termed the move discriminatory.

“This directive will take effect from the 22nd of February, 2015,” the statement by the ministry said.

Somaliland has on many occasions accused of discriminating against the Somalis from the Southern part of the country. A case in point is last year when a refugees from Yemen arrived in Somalind and the local administration turned them down, saying Somaliland was not ready to accommodate Somali refugees. The president of Somaliland Ahmed Mohamed Silanyo later distanced his government from the directive, saying Somaliland was a Somali nation. He visited the refugees to make his point.

Somaliland has been clamoring to be recognised as an independent state, either of the same status accorded to Hong Kong in China or the status of the Palestinians at the United Nations. Somaliland’s attempt to receive an international recognition was thwarted on many occasions.

 

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