Garowe Online (Garowe)
30 November 2008
The leader of Somalia's breakaway republic of Somaliland told a Sunday press conference in the region's capital Hargeisa that 'foreigners' are responsible for the recent terror attacks.
Mr. Dahir Riyale, the Somaliland leader, said the October 29 suicide bombings that killed at least 20 people in Hargeisa was not the first attack against Somaliland.
"We will establish an anti-terror unit and introduce anti-terror bill to parliament soon," President Riyale said.
He indicated that the terror attacks "involved foreigners," but noted: "There were some from here [Somaliland] who were misled among the terrorists."
Somaliland's leader condemned local religious personalities for "sending kids to be trained in southern Somalia by al Shabaab."
Voter registration
The voter-registration process will resume at 337 locations in Hargeisa on Monday, according to President Riyale.
The Somaliland leader noted that the suicide car bombings that targeted the presidential compound, UN offices and the Ethiopian trade office in Hargeisa were timed with the voter-registration process.
Because of the attacks, the process was postponed on two separate occasions by the Somaliland Election Commission.
Mr. Riyale said the Somaliland administration sent a ministerial-level delegation to Kenya to discuss with UN officials a recent decision to downgrade Somaliland's security-level following the terror attacks in Hargeisa.
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