Ethiopian Airlines suspends flights to Somaliland following blasts
Following the five suicide car bomb attacks on October 29, 2008, that rocked government and international agency buildings in Somaliland, Ethiopian Airlines has suspended flights to the nation's capital Hargeissa.
Explosions occurred at the presidential palace, government security posts, United Nations (UN) offices and an Ethiopian consular unit in both Somaliland and Bossaso, capital of Puntland, that halted the national carrier's flights as of November 7, 2008.
EAL had generated 1.3 million dollars from this route last year.The flights to Somaliland were popular amongst former residents of the independent region, international agencies and for khat exports.According to EAL sources, security concerns caused the company to halt the route and will reconsider opening it on January 31, 2009.
Currently passengers heading to Somaliland and Puntland have to travel to Djibouti and fly via a small private aviation company called Doolla. The connection has cost travelers on average an extra 2,000 birr.
In the port of Bosasso, two huge blasts rocked the city as suicide bombers attacked two offices of the Puntland security forces, killing a woman cleaner and injuring six soldiers, residents and officials said.
At least 20 people were killed and more than 30 others injured in the attacks in Hargeissa, according to officials and witnesses. International media quoted witnesses saying the death toll from the two attacks totaled 28, and that at least 20 of the deaths occurred at the Ethiopian office in Hargeissa.
By Muluken Yewondwossen
source:nazret.com
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