MOGADISHU (Halbeeg News) – Somali Prime Minister Hassan Ali Kheire is scheduled to travel to Garowe town on Sunday morning.
The local authorities in Puntland state have deployed hundreds of soldiers in the town to beef up the security.
The Premier and entourage are expected to arrive in Garowe town amid preparations to welcome the PM are reportedly underway in the town.
According to sources privy to the development, the Prime Minister and cabinet ministers will attend the ceremony to mark the 20th anniversary of the inception of Puntland state.
Puntland, an arid region of north-east Somalia, declared itself an autonomous state in August 1998, in part to avoid the clan warfare engulfing southern Somalia.
Despite its relative stability, the region had previously endured armed conflict and grabbed the world headlines with an upsurge in pirate attacks on international shipping in the Indian Ocean. Puntland is a destination for many Somalis displaced by violence in the south.
Unlike its neighbour, breakaway Somaliland, Puntland says it does not seek recognition as an independent entity, wishing instead to be part of a federal Somalia.
The territory takes its name from the Land of Punt, a centre of trade for the ancient Egyptians and a place shrouded in legend.
Discussion about this post