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Somalia: Gunmen Open Fire On Puntland Finance Minister's Vehicle
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Garowe Online (Garowe)
21 March 2008
Posted to the web 21 March 2008
Puntland
A group of unidentified armed men opened gunfire on a convoy transporting Puntland Finance Minister Mohamed "Gaagaab" Ali as the vehicles drove through town in the port of Bossaso, witnesses said.
No one was reported hurt, but the incident underscored the growing trend of criminal acts in the relatively quiet regional autonomy in northeast Somalia.
Minister Gaagaab was quickly transported to his hotel in Bossaso, where extra armed police were deployed to keep guard.
Puntland police have not yet identified the attackers. Conflicting reports are emerging with regard to the identity of the gunmen.
One unconfirmed report said that the gunmen are members of the Puntland security forces, who are angry with the Ministry of Finance for the nonpayment of wages during the last five months.
Sources close to Finance Minister Gaagaab suggested that the gunmen who attacked his convoy are soldiers loyal to Abdullahi Said Samatar, the region's recently-appointed Minister of Security.
An internal dispute has lingered between Mr. Gaagaab and Mr. Samatar since January, when Puntland President Adde Muse appointed former police official Samatar to head the Ministry of Security.
Samatar has demanded that his Ministry's budget be independent of Gaagaab, who personally manages the government's finances, including all the ministries' budgets.
Government sources in Bossaso tell Garowe Online that the attack on Minister Gaagaab's convoy postponed the Minister's planned meeting with a group of businessmen aimed at finding lasting resolution to a dispute that has led to bloodshed.
President Muse selected Gaagaab to represent the Puntland administration in meetings with businessmen, who are reported to be owners of an illegal machine that prints counterfeit Somali Shillings.
The dispute is linked to the Puntland government's ban on the printing of counterfeit cash, following protests against hyperinflation across the region's main towns.
The businessmen reportedly halted their illegal operation, which they were licensed to undertake by the government of Puntland, according to our sources.
But other businessmen who are closely associated with the Muse administration continued printing the counterfeit currency in Bossaso, despite the ban.
This development angered the business group that stopped the illegal operation as per the government ban, the sources added.
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The disgruntled businessmen vowed to restart printing the fake Shillings and organized clan militias towards the port of Bossaso, to help protect their machine from efforts by Puntland security forces to shut it down by military force.
But the clan militias, who left Garowe, were ambushed by Puntland soldiers mid-way on Tuesday night, sparking a gunfight that killed at least one clan fighter, local sources said.
It is not clear whether or not Gaagaab's efforts will lead to success, but the development underscores the Puntland regime's direct involvement in criminal enterprises operating throughout the region.
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