Africa
Ethiopian security forces confiscate Somali trucks
March 28, 2011 · 32 Comments
LAS ANOD — Ethiopian security forces confiscated over 60 civilian trucks from Somalia’s central Galgadud region on Sunday, media reports.
According to Mogadishu-based Shabelle Media, Ethiopian customs supported by a military convey closed the border between Ethiopia and Somalia after its forces took 64 trucks belonging to Somali traders into custody. The trucks belong to civilians from Galgudud and were carrying livestock to Somaliland markets before they were intercepted. The Ethiopians unloaded the trucks before they drove it away in the Jigjiga direction. The port of Berbera has became the biggest livestock exporter in the Horn of Africa since November 2009.
It’s unclear why the Ethiopians took the Somali trucks but some people suspect they might have been smuggling weapons for an armed clan-militia in Somaliland’s Buhodle region, near the Ethiopian border.
Drivers told Shabelle that the Ethiopians collected illegal taxes from them before they confiscated their trucks. This is not the first time Ethiopian forces have been accused of crossing into Somali border to collect taxes from truckers. In 2008, they were accused of collecting taxes from civilian trucks near the Kala-Beyr crossing in Hiiraan.
It was just last week when Ethiopian federal police stormed a hotel in Addis Ababa and detained two Somali nationals said to be the self-proclaimed President of Somali Central State, a regional administration for Galgadud, Mr. Mohamed Hashi Arabey and his vice.
Similar arrests were carried out in the town of Abudwaq, one of the main towns of Galgadud region, by Alhu Sunna forces. They said, the suspects were trying to form an illegal administration (Somali Central State).
Somalilandpress | 28 March 2011
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By Hassan Ali
Tags: Arms, Ethiopia, galgadud, Livestock, Somaliland, Trucks
Readers Comments (32)
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It's nothing, our Ethiopian security forces do this all the time. Obviously there was an arms shipment, between regions and it was stopped at the root. Judging doing our job.
Security concerns.
Cheers.
security comes first.
We do not need Marehan administration next to Puntland pushing the ONLF and SSC militants from behind. Ethiopia is following the situation very closely and knows Galgadud is better under Alhu Sunna with Habar Gedir majority stakehold.
They are bringing their livestock to Berbera because they dont make as much money in Bossaasso or Puntland.
Last time they took trucks from SSC militants now their cousin SCS. If I were them I would give the livestock to Alhu Sunna so they can have one big deekry fiesta :)
This was a security measure and stability comes first. We support the Ethiopian custom personnel.
This SCS does it stand for a combination of…ASWJ for Marehan clan and UIC for Ceyr H/gidir
clan. Kayse could you walk us through please.
Cheers.
Great news mashallah this is the way forward!
This article made it very clear that the Ethiopians are crossing the border illegally and collecting taxes so i do not understand why yu guys are congratulating the ethiopians for doing what they doing to our Somali brothers. I don't care what tribe the truck drivers belong to, according to the article this people are civilians. The ethiopians should stop interfering Somali's affairs and respect the border. You guys talk about tribe, yu guys should know that its tigrinya that are collecting taxes from our muslim brothers. We should never condone this actions. We are Somalilanders but when it comes to Ethiopia and Somalia, Somalia is our brothers and will alwayz be despite our differencies.
I dont care about Somalia sxb, infact Somalia should be divided between Somaliland, Ethiopia and Kenya.
Somaliland will have Hawiyeland, I do care about Hawiyes no body else.
The Ethiopians who carried out this action are Somalis (Ogadens), they dont like their own brothers, why should we care?
No Tigrey is in Kilil5 or Somali State.
we are somali first and somali last so dont forgate that guys. if its this guys today then it will be us tomorrow so we have to support our somali brothers. i come from djibouti but my parents came from somaliland and there parents came from jigjiga and there parents came from around berbera and i am not the only somali with this sort of background. so where ever we come from wether its somaliland/djibouti/5th state ethiopia/somalia/kenya only if we work together can we reach somewhere and your coments certainly don't help. we may differ in politics but we are all one people and need to support one another. one more thing, i think the people who are commenting here are mainly kids who dont know the world around them so please keep your comments to your selfs if they are not constructive.
how can we work together is somalia denys somaliland and if somalia is doing whatever it takes to deny our freedom even though we like 20 years ahead of them they still deny us, therefore we dont really care about somalia, our friends are the ethiopians at least they dont deny us.
we support the ethiopians admunistration and we are against somalia, even though i like hawieys just like kayse said, somalia should get divided and shared by ethiopia, kanya and somaliland.
This Cawaale guy is from the old school, Timo Cadde dream days sxb, he makes decisions based on how many women intermarried from his family and X village. That is so out dated. Now days Somalis even marry other nations forget X village does that make you European, American or Japanese?
We are true Landers and will remain that way, we careless about the few ladies who married other landers, keep that in the house. I have mixed X and X village backgrounds but means nothing when it comes to identity and political class.
If they deny you, they consider you dead, so we should we care about them. I say let the Ethiopians take good care of them and even if they need to import weapons, Berbera port can handle their needs.
Sland comes first before naago.
Somaliland should definitely work with and support Ethiopia when it comes to our common security, but should draw a line somewhere and condemn the oppression of our brothers.
they not our brothers, they dont even want us to have our freedom somalia hates somaliland they wish us to dead mate. a brother should love a brother and it goes two ways, not one way. somalia are not our brothers they hate us they dont want us to enjoy our freedom. i hope i said enough for you to understand where im comming from.
One more thing. How about if Somaliland proposes an exchange with Somalia. Basically, Somalia takes Buuhoodle and the land inhabited by the SSC terrorists while Somaliland gets Merka, Baraawe, and the other Banaadir areas inhabited by the reer Hamar minorities. I am sure those vulnerable tribes would be much better off with civilised Somaliland and we get to rid our Country of the terrorists.
reer hamar minorities are welcome in somaliland, we are civilised the reason we came to this position with somalia is because the big tribe who ignorant and deny our freedom, is not even howiyes they nice people is just some people in somalia who just dont like somaliland i hope u know where im comming from, we dont like to be racist civilians are welcome. is just those who are against somaliland they make us hate all somalies, they just need to leave us alone and wallahi us somalilanders dont mind who and what tribe, we are civiliased peopble and we want to move forward.
How told the silly story that Dulbahante, Warsengali, and the Gedubiirsi are gone? No they have gone no where boy, as they are part and parcel of Somaliland. It is more likely that your terrorist father is the one who is given a chase by our brave soldiers and hence left you behind in the bush.
This comment is meant for the silly boy below.
my friends wake up from your wet dream called somaliland,there is no such thing.is not the Somalia thats denying your so called recognition,its the world communitY.plus dhulbahante is gone,warsaangeli is gone,and now gedibeersye is gone.
we dont reply to haters, but everybody knows that you burning inside because we are gone we are 20 years ahead you, stay away from our news why you so intrested we must be doing something good. looooooooooooooool
How are ahead exactly?As far as the US concerns YOU as a Somali live in a failed state called Somalia.
Somaliland is not on the map and if it is,is in the minds of isaaqs only.
somaliland is not on the mao somaliland this and that if we not on the map just leave us alone what has it got to do with you?
your women and kids need more of your speach than us we like gone my friend, save your talk for your hungary women and kids. thank you, somaliland is way gone and we not comming back,
sscsomalia you need to open your eyes boy,you talk like woman,dhulbante,warsaangeli,gedibeersye are somalilanders if your mum told you that she must be blind,or deaf we are one communit and if other ppl wat to live there they r more then welcome,as for you sscsomali your grave yard is waiting 4 u,
somalia dsoe not exist anymore in any real somalilander's eyes. somalia is dead somalia is bye bye. somaliland is the new world order.
Who is the real Somalilander? Elies yu should get lost with your hatred and sick mind. If we want to be democratic muslim nation we must be respectful to our brothers in the South. We cannot follow the footsteps of Siad Bare, hate division and tribes. The real Somalilander will not deny Somalia as State next door to Somaliland. I don't know where yu got all this hate from Elies and Kayse' but not everyone in Hargeisa would agree with your sick mind. We will offer our somali brothers an olive branch peace lets leave in peace and we will tell them to respect our decission to be an independent State. We don't hate Hawiye or daarood, Somaliland is not a tribe State its an States with different tribes.
Elies welcome onboard abti forget those few Landers who met few dhocilo from the other side of the border and think they are in Utopia, very soon the honeymoon will be over, as soon as they claim "single father allowance" they will rejoin the camp. Wa cadi let them get over the free Niiko.
Cawaale and Dahir wa cadi abtis, we will just blacklist you like Sifir, Kalun and that other fella.
Real Landers keep the fox out.
Thankx Kayse we must keep it real,
Dahir i dont hate anybody im civilized person. but if you read the comments carefully before you attack me you will understand why i gone mad. i wont let anybody such sscsomalia to chat lies here, and for you to attack me without not looking at the facts, you must be small minded, open your eyes and read all the comments before you attack me or kayse, we are a true somalilanders who will defend somaliland at any cost, thats all.
I fully support Somalilands 100%, but I can't help but feel a little sick when I read/hear that Somaliland government helps or turns a blind eye to some of the actions of the Ethiopian regime, which are unjust and done with impunity. I feel that those that do this because of 'The enemy of my enemy is my friend' mantra. Are misguided, they should have the mantra 'Injustice anywhere is injustice everywhere'.
The average person in somaliland does not trust the Ethiopian regime, which is pretty much a dictorship, which they dispise. I understand Somaliland has to work with this regime, but they should do it on there own terms and call them out when they see them doing something unjust and wrong.
What wrong have they done this time? You dont even know the full story. Maybe, they crossed into Ethiopia illegally without paying tax….please dont turn it on Somaliland, that business is for Ethiopia and Somalia. Why are you blaming Somaliland?
We just support Ethiopia because when Somalia was bombing our women and children, Ethiopia had its border open for us. Somalia would have drank out blood without Ethiopia.
Excellent comment mr; Dirie Thats the point i was trying to make the whole time, we should never trust the Tigre, The enemy of my enemy is my friend but this huge beast will turn on me once they finish my enemy as for Elies my apology to you brother. i was not trying to attack yu but just wanted to educate you, we can have difference of opinion and thats a healthy thing at the end of the day we will stand on the same line to defend Somaliland.
Ethiopia was there for us when we needed them, and we will be there for them whenever they need us. That is how relationships work.
now u admit that somaliland states, because of people like you we have to become friends with ethiopia, if people from somalia respected somaliland states we obviously will help our somali brothers, sscsomalia stop the hate and try understand where somalilanders are comming from, may be things will get better between somalia and somaliland.
There is a lot of senseless comments although some wise guys are out there..,. Somalilanders are somalis and Somalis from Somalia are Somalis too….