It is strange how two events with the same bloody outcome can garner
different reactions from the world community. The first event took place
in Nairobi and resulted in the massacre of 67 innocent civilians whose
only guilt was to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. The second
event took place in a remote area of the Somali republic known as Taleh
and resulted in the massacre of 8 innocent civilians, the injury of
another 8, the destruction of residential units with heavy artillery and
the displacement of thousands to areas that lack the most basic
amenities. The only guilt that these innocent civilians committed was to
support the convening of a Congress for the clans that call home a
swath of land popularly known as Sool, Sanag and Ayn and more recently
‘Khatumo”. Even the Federal Government in Somalia failed to address the
issue properly, considering it as a fight between two related clans
although the perpetrators clearly admitted their responsibility in the
media.
The Story of Taleh
The
Somali freedom fighter Sayed Mohamed Abdulla Hassan selected Taleh as
the base for his 21 years of relentless struggle against the British
colonialists that controlled most of the coastal areas of Northern
Somalia. He built his famous fort in Taleh and directed his numerous
expeditions from there. The fort was home to thousands of his followers
and was eventually destroyed in 1920 by aerial bombardment. Thousands
of non-combatants died in the indiscriminate bombing and thousands more
perished because of starvation and disease. What happened to the
Mao-Mao in Kenya who are now seeking compensation from the British is
dwarfed by the death and destruction levied upon Taleh and tis
inhabitants. Just like other nations in this world including the United
States, the people of Taleh and many other areas in Somalia sacrificed
their lives for a country free from the shackles of colonization by
foreign powers.
The Politics of Taleh
After the
collapse of the Somali government, the three rebel movements that
destroyed Somalia and yet failed to agree on forming a national
government, resorted to establishing clan-based enclaves known as the
“Lands”. The Somali National Movement (SNM) created an enclave known as
Somaliland which is dominated by one Clan. The Somali Salvation
Democratic Front (SSDF) created an enclave known as Puntland which is
dominated by another clan. The third rebel movement, the United Somali
Congress (USC) failed to establish a “land” but enjoyed the focus of the
international community because of its control of Mogadishu, the Somali
Capital.
The clans in Sool, Sanag and Ayn, an area between
Puntland and Somalialnd faced a real dilemma. On the one hand, they
share the same clan name with the sub-clans that dominate Puntland while
they share a common colonial legacy with the clans that dominate
Somalialnd. The Sool, Sanag and Ayn clans also share common grazing
lands and major cultural and linguistic traits with the Somaliland
clans. Close Family ties also exist among the Northern clans through
centuries of intermarriage.
After being disillusioned with
Somalialnd and rejecting its secessionist agenda , the clans in Sool,
Eastern Sanag and Ayn decided to join their relatives in the East to
form Puntland in 1998. Things progressed smoothly until 15 October 2007
when Somaliland, with the aid of important local figures, captured Las
Anod, the capital of Sool, Sanag and Ayn. The Puntland forces vacated
the city without putting up any credible fight which looked as if it
were a pre-arranged operation that many believe was brokered by Ethiopia
which probably saw Las Anod as a security threat that required tighter
control which was lacking under Puntland. The Sool, Sanag and Ayn clans
fared poorly under Puntland. While the rest of Puntland progressed well
with the aid of International donors and UN agencies, the Sool, Sanag
and Ayn territories were painted as disputed territories that are no-go
areas. All funds earmarked for the development of these areas was
diverted to other areas in Puntland.
Fed up with the lack of
progress in their territories and angered by the extended occupation of
Las Anod by the secessionist-minded Somalialnd , the people of Sool,
Sanag and Ayn convened a major conference in Taleh in January 2012 to
form an administration of their own to cater for the development of
their territories and the recovery of their capital from the
secessionist-minded Somaliland administration. The city underwent a
tragic transformation after it fell into the Somaliland hands. Many
residents escaped into refugee camps in Kenya while many intellectuals
lost their lives in mysterious circumstances. Masked killers targeted
any individual capable of contributing to the development of the city.
Even today, professors in the only University in the city refrain from
performing the dawn and evening prayers in the mosques. These are the
times in which the killers prey on their victims.
The Massacre
After
the Khatumo administration completed an interim period of 18 months in
office, the people of Sool, Sanag and Ayn decided to hold another major
conference in Taleh known as Khatumo III in order to assess the progress
made and to name a new administration with a parliament and more robust
institutions.
Somaliland
tried to stand against the first Khatumo administration formed in Taleh
in 2012 and even tried to capture its officials in Buhodle. Major
clashes ensued in which many people lost their lives. Puntland stayed on
the sidelines at that time except for vitriolic remarks from its
foul-mouthed president, Farole.
This time however, Puntland
decided to come out strongly against the Khatumo III Conference and sent
its vice president, who happens to be a Taleh native, to Taleh in
order to convince the Khatumo supporters in the city to stop organizing
the conference. When they refused, Farole and his Vice President decided
to send the Puntland security forces into Taleh to terrorized the
residents. They also planned to capture one of the the Khatumo president
and one of the traditional leaders who were in Taleh for helping
organize the Khatumo III Conference.
Around 60 vehicles mounted
with high-caliber weapons stormed the city in the early afternoon of 28
November 2013 in a blitz reminiscent of the Taleh bombardment in 1920 by
the British. It was a brutal onslaught that resulted in the death and
injury of innocent civilians. Some were murdered while relaxing in their
homes. Among the dead is
a famous poet
who was instrumental in encouraging the Khatumo people to believe in
their own administration. He was unarmed. His only weapon was his
powerful prose.
It is worth mentioning that the Puntland Vice
President never set foot in Taleh during his tenure of 5 years in
Puntland; he never
bothered to tackle its lack of proper schools,
health care facilities, clean water and job opportunities for the youth.
When he and Farole felt threatened in the upcoming Puntland election,
they decided to start a little war in Taleh against the Khatumo
administration which never had any major military presence in the area.
It seems that the intention of Farole and his Vice was to postpone the
Puntland election on the pretext of insecurity in Puntland. They were
probably counting on a drawn out armed conflict with the Khatumo
administration. However, things got out of hand and instead of facing a
Khatumo force, they ended up massacring innocent civilians which
prompted them to withdraw their forces after a few days of mayhem. They
left in their wake scores of widows and orphans.
Farole and his
administration initially tried to portray the massacre as an incident
between two clans in Taleh. However, they later
admitted openly that the purpose of the operation was to
stop the Khatumo III conference and that the invading army was part of the Puntland security forces.
The
massacre is compounded by the flagrant violation of the human rights of
the people of Taleh. Freedom of association and freedom of meeting are
the God-given rights of every human being. To kill innocent civilians
exercising their right to meet is a major crime against humanity and
should not be tolerated.
Concluding Remarks
President
Farole and his Vice President committed atrocities in Taleh and these
atrocities should not go unpunished. The ICC should start investigating
the incident and bring both men to justice. The remoteness of Taleh
should not prompt the International Community to look the other way. The
life of a massacred Taleh resident should be worth the same as the
life of a massacred Kenya or Syrian or for that matter any other
massacred civilian in any corner of this world despite its remoteness
and lack of media focus.
I also call upon the newly appointed
Prime Minister of Somalia to form an investigative committee that can
travel to Taleh in order to gather information about the massacre and
forward its findings to the ICC.
Ali H. Abdulla
