Boots from Puntland-bound plane.
After Somalia’s government collapsed in 1991, the autonomous breakaway regions of Somaliland and Puntland, in the north, were the only parts of the country to escape anarchy. Today, Somaliland and Puntland are effectively independent countries, though unrecognized by most other governments. Occasional partners in security efforts versus pirates and Islamists, Somaliland and Puntland are also frequent rivals, particularly in land disputes.
A couple weeks ago, the news broke that Puntland had formed a new, 1,000-man militia, using unspecified foreign funding and with the assistance of some former U.S. officials. Early reports were that the militias would patrol pirate bases in order to clamp down on sea banditry. Subsequent rumors have cast doubt on that notion. Somaliland apparently fears the Puntland militia could be used to tip the balance of power between Somaliland and Puntland. Now the Puntland militia has sparked a diplomatic crisis — and two innocent journalists are caught in the crossfire.
It started last Friday, when a contracted cargo plane, apparently originating from Entebbe, Uganda, landed in Hargeisa in Somaliland, en route to Puntland with a reported cargo of supplies — “200 heavy boxes” worth — for the new militia. Somaliland officials seized the plane, alleging it was illegally transporting weapons to Puntland, in violation of a U.N. arms embargo on Somalia. A reliable source tells War Is Boring that there were no weapons on the plane, only 200 uniforms plus boots and rations. The source sent us the above photo, claiming it depicted the boots in the plane’s cargo.
Somaliland forces have detained the eight people reported to be aboard the plane, including six Russian crew. The other two people are journalists, our source says, bound for Puntland to report on the militia training. The journalists have not violated any laws, the source claims. All the same, Somaliland has apparently rushed them into trial. We have passed this information along to the Committee to Protect Journalists, in hope of verifying it and — if it’s true — acting to protect the journalists from imprisonment.
UPDATE, 12/19/10: A source with strong ties to Somaliland writes in with an important claim: “I have it on good authority (from the horse’s mouth, if you will) that the two men referred to in your piece are not journalists, but actually mercenaries, or ‘security consultants,’ to use the nomenclature of them and their employers.” Indeed, Somaliland has added charges of “impersonating a journalist” to the weapons-smuggling charges faced by the two men.
I have the names of the two self-proclaimed journalists. I have been asked not to publish the names, but I did Google them. One checks out as an actual journalist. The other … nothing. Not that this proves anything. There are plenty of legitimate journalists working alongside mercenaries in Africa. There are also mercenaries and spies posing as journalists. Who’s to say a spy couldn’t use a real journo’s name?
In short, I have no idea what’s really happening here.
UPDATE, 12/21/10: The two men have been confirmed as journalists and released!
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Keep the heat on the issue, David. I’ll be very interested to hear more reporting on this.
I’d think the US, Ethiopia, etc, would negotiate a settlement on the border dispute just to keep our allies from getting distracted from Al Shabab and the pirates.
[...] seis tripulantes rusos y dos ciudadanos sudafricanos. Estos últimos, que en un primer momento declararon ser periodistas, en realidad son contratistas – o mercenarios – de la empresa militar privada Saracen [...]