| Front Page |
Hargeisa, May 31, 2003 (SL Times) - It is 15 years ago tonight when about 800 fighters belonging to the then opposition forces of the ‘Somali National Movement’ came into Hargeisa city to begin the final stages of the war for the liberation of Somaliland from former dictator Siyad Barre, one of the most brutal regimes that Africa has known. By May 27, 1988, SNM forces were already in Buroa. Siyad Barre's government retaliated with air and artillery bombardment of the civilian population in both Hargeisa and Buroa as well as other major urban and rural centers in Somaliland.
About 100,000 innocent civilians were killed, while hundreds of thousands of people were forced to flee their homes seeking refuge in camps in eastern Ethiopia. It took the SNM 2 years and several months more to totally defeat the enemy.
At least 10 veterans of the 31st May 1988 offensive are being held now in Hargeisa central prison. They include Mohamed Ahmed Hashi Madar (Weere) who as a high school student escaped arrest in 1982 to join the SNM, Axmed Barkhad, a civil servant, Abdul Aziz Habane, currently a businessman and Mohamed Dahir, an-unemployed father of 9 children. These men and others were arrested on May 19, 2003 by Somaliland’s security forces. No charges were officially brought against them and it is not yet known whether they will face trial.
According to the Minister of Interior, Ismail Adan Osman, the veterans were held for being suspected of belonging to a larger group of ex-combatants that the government had earlier described as planning subversive activities against the state. KULMIYE opposition party described these arrests as part of a repressive policy aimed at the persecution of its members. Most of the people arrested in connection with this case were known KULMIYE supporters and activists.
The police department has so far avoided making any comments on recent detentions, which were directly ordered by the Minister of Interior.
Home | Contact us | Links | Archives