The leading opposition party in Somaliland, a breakaway republic in northern Somalia, has dismissed a government minister's allegations that a party official is a member of al Shabaab, a group of militants waging in the country's southern regions.
A press statement issued by the Kulmiye opposition party said Somaliland Interior inister Abdullahi Irro's allegations "damage" the region's image as a peaceful enclave.
The Minister accused Mr. Hersi Ali Haji Ali Haji Hassan of having links to al Shabaab "without any evidence," the statement read.Mr. Hersi Ali, who was the Kulmiye party's representative in the Somaliland Election Commission, was arrested last week after he openly opposed President Dahir Riyale's controversial livestock export deal with Saudi Arabian company, al Jabberi.
The allegation "damages the name and value of Somaliland, for the international community could view the country [Somaliland] as unsafe, where the al Shabaab group plays a role."
Further, the statement said that al Shabaab has "no political or military force" in Somaliland, while advising the Riyale administration to avoid such accusations.
Somaliland, in Somalia's northwestern regions, declared independence from the rest of the country in 1991 but has not gained international recognition.
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