Puntland orders out three UN staff

The UN this week received letters of expulsion for three international staff members from the self-declared state of Puntland in northeastern Somalia. The letters, from Puntland's "interior minister" Hassan Abshir Farah, accused the three - Eddie Johns of UNDP/UNCTAD, Remmelt Hummeyn of UNDP and Said Al-Naimari of UNICEF - of "unsatisfactory services". Their proposed replacements should be submitted for approval by the Puntland authorities. John Spring of the UN Coordination Unit for Somalia told IRIN on Friday that the UN was still discussing the expulsions with humanitarian partners from the Somalia Aid Coordination Body (SACB) but considered it unacceptable that Puntland should unilaterally order the removal of UN staff. Meanwhile, new missions and activities in the region are on hold, he added. Regional observers suggested that the expulsion orders stemmed from a belief in the Puntland administration that the region was not getting due attention from the humanitarian community, and that "as a legitimate heir to the defunct Somali government", it had the right to claim that all aid money be channelled through its departments. The international non-governmental organisation CARE is also reported to be considering similar expulsion letters for two of its staff, humanitarian sources told IRIN.