Border with Somaliland reopened

The government of Djibouti has reopened its common border with the self-declared Republic of Somaliland, northwestern Smalia, a senior Djibouti official told IRIN on Monday. "The border has been opened with northern regions of Somalia," said the official. This followed the fulfilment by the Somaliland authorities of agreements reached in October, he said. The provisions of the October agreements included the ending of hostile propaganda. "They have fulfilled their side of the bargain, and we are now reciprocating." A Somaliland official confirmed to IRIN that the common border had been "open since Sunday". The border was closed by the Djibouti government in April. Relations between the two sides soured following Djibouti's hosting of last year's Somali peace talks, which led to the establishment of the Transitional National Government (TNG). The Somaliland administration boycotted the talks, accusing Djibouti of interfering in Somalia's internal affairs. The Djibouti official insisted that Djibouti had not changed its policy of supporting the TNG and favouring Somali unity in general. "We have made no compromises in this regard, and our friends in Hargeysa know it." Hargeysa is the capital of Somaliland.