13 July, 2009

Angry mob goes on the rampage, clashes with the police in Borama city

Angry mob goes on the rampage, clashes with the police in Borama city

Borama, Somaliland (Somaliland Globe)- An angry mob went on the rampage in Borama today pelting stones and ransacking businesses following the death of a young man during clashes with the police in the city centre. 

The angry mob was protesting after hearing the news that one person was killed and five others were wounded in fresh fighting that erupted between their clan who hail from Borama and another clan who hail from Gabiley over a disputed territory in the district of El- Bardaleh - the border that divides between the two rival clans.  

The protesters who were mainly comprising young men and women got angry after a protester died following clashes with the police who used live bullets to disperse the crowd. The protesters set up barricades and set rubbish and tyres ablaze during the demonstration and caused damage to local businesses.  

The governor of Borama, Mohamoud Sheiklh Abdillahi Egeh, confirmed that the police did use live bullets in which one person lost his life during the clashes between the protesters and police. Egeh further confirmed that the body of the man who was killed in the fighting in El-Bardaleh and four other wounded men were brought to Borama General Hospital.  

Passions were running high in Borama after the bodies of four other men killed in El-Bardaleh fighting were also brought to the city for burial this afternoon. 

The fighting in El-Bardaleh erupted after armed men from Gabiley abducted ten men and their vehicles from Borama and killed four of them. The remaining six were released without their vehicles and sent back to Borama. 

The governor of Gabiley, Mohamed Ahmed Habib, confirmed that one man who was wounded in the EL-Bardaleh fighting was brought to Gabiley General Hospital. 

Earlier, a delegation of elders from Gabiley met with president Rayale on Friday to convey him that the situation in El-Bardaleh was very serious and remained on a knife's edge. The president did not only fail to swiftly act on the advice of these elderly men but had also failed previously to act upon the recommendations made by the mediation subcommittee from the Upper House of Somaliland's parliament who undertook an investigation into the dispute. 
 It is not known why the president waited so long to take an action on this explosive situation however there are some local media reports that president Rayale who himself hails from Borama did not find the subcommittee's findings favourable to his clan. 

There was a long-standing dispute between the two clans over the semi-desert territory in El-Bardaleh and its vicinity. The government deployed a large contingent of police and military in the area. There are growing calls from right across the political spectrum for the two brotherly clans to lay down arms. 

Staff Writer

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