Killing of traditional elder "unintentional"

The killing of a traditional elder, who was also a UK passport holder, in the self-declared autonomous region of Puntland, northeastern Somalia, was accidental, Isma'il Warsame, chief of cabinet of the Puntland leader, Col Abdullahi Yusuf, told IRIN on Monday.

Sultan Ahmad Mahmud Muhammad, better known as Sultan Hurreh, was killed on Saturday in the village of Kala-Bayrkah, 50 km south of Garowe, the region's capital.

According to Isma'il, Sultan Hurreh, who had opposed Abdullahi Yusuf, was one of those targeted for arrest by the Puntland security forces, "because of his association with extremist elements". "He died in a shoot-out between his guards and security forces, who were trying to apprehend him", he said. "It was unintentional, and we regret that it happened", he added.

However, a journalist eyewitness, who requested anonymity, told IRIN that the killing of Sultan Hurreh, had been deliberate. According to this source, a convoy of vehicles escorting Abdullahi Yusuf, who was moving from Garowe to Galkayo, passed Sultan Hurreh's Land-Cruiser on the way. Recognizing the car, then two technicals (battle-wagons) sent to intercept Hurreh caught up with him at Kala-Bayrkah, "and he was killed by the militia, who opened fire". "There was nothing accidental about it. His two guards did not put up any resistance since they were surrounded", said the source.

Sultan Hurreh, like Abdullahi Yusuf is a member of the Umar Mahmud sub-clan of the Majeerteen, had been one of the strongest critics and opponents of Abdullahi's administration, said the journalist. Hurreh was one of the elders who met in Garowe last year and elected Jama Ali Jama as president, he added. "There was no love lost between the two."

The killing is likely to create tension in Galkayo, which is the home town of both the deceased and Abdullahi Yusuf. However, Isma'il told IRIN that elders were meeting to investigate the killing, and that "we don't expect the incident to create any political or security concerns".

Meanwhile, Isma'il has denied that the success of Abdullahi Yusuf's military operations led to widespread human rights abuses. A group calling itself the Human Rights Organisation (HRO), based in Qardo, 240 km south of Bosaso, has accused Abdullahi Yusuf of large-scale arrests of people suspected of opposing him. In a statement made available to IRIN, the HRO said "the figure of civilians arrested and imprisoned or abducted on the orders of Col Yusuf is 102".

Isma'il Warsame described these accusations as "pure fabrication", and said that the actual number of people detained was two. "We are not arresting anyone. We are in fact releasing the prisoners of war captured in the fighting," he asserted.