Fears Increase Over Insurgents in Somalia Threatening Puntland

22 January 2010

At least three lawmakers have been assassinated in Somalia's semi-autonomous region of Puntland in recent months, increasing fears that radical Islamist insurgents in the south may be expanding their effort to weaken the government in Puntland. One regional analyst says so far, there is no evidence to suggest that the violence in Puntland is being orchestrated or carried out by al-Qaida-linked militants in southern Somalia.

Earlier this week, unidentified gunmen shot and killed a lawmaker in the northern port town of Bosasso, marking the third time in recent months that a member of Puntland parliament has been targeted for assassination.

On January 6, another lawmaker was gunned down in Bosasso and two months before that, gunmen assassinated a lawmaker in the Puntland capital, Garowe.

Residents say since the region declared autonomy from the rest of Somalia in 1998, there is little precedent for the level and frequency of violence against Puntland government officials as is the case now. In the past two years, assassins, including a suicide bomber, have killed several senior police and military officials, and targeted government ministers.

According to International Crisis Group's regional analyst E.J. Hogendoorn, there is little doubt as to who may be carrying out these attacks.

"There is a fairly strong undercurrent of radicalized individuals living in Puntland, who have targeted Puntland officials over time," said Hogendoorn. "They have been repressed and probably more radicalized by successive Puntland administrations and they are lashing out. And the reason they are attacking members of parliament at the moment is because they are soft targets. Other officials have increased their security and they are now going after people who do not have as good a security."