Out of sight out of mind:The Second Taleh Massacre

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