Puntland leader denies presence of extremists

The "acting president" of the self-declared autonomous region of Puntland in northeastern Somalia, Yusuf Haji Nur, has denied reports that there are Al-Ittihad al-Islami camps in Puntland. He told IRIN that these reports "were being disseminated by discredited Puntland politicians" and had no basis in reality. A statement signed by Isma'il Warsame, the spokesman of the former Puntland leader, Abdullahi Yusuf, claimed that Al-Ittihad was active and "now more assertive and aggressive than ever before in its manifestations to establish an extremist state in Somalia", according to the pro-Abdullahi Yusuf web site, Allpuntland.com.

Yusuf Haji Nur, who spoke to IRIN on Wednesday from Garowe, the regional capital, said, "There are no camps and bases here. We will welcome the international community to come here to verify it for itself." He accused Abdullahi Yusuf of mounting "a smear campaign against Puntland, because he was rejected by the people". Abdullahi Yusuf's tenure of office was terminated by elders in July, and he was later forced to leave Garowe, and Bosaso, the commercial capital, and returned to his home town of Galkayo. At the time, Abdullahi Yusuf blamed events on armed Islamic extremists. Nur said the world should not listen to "the ranting of a failed and rejected politician". Nur said that Abdullahi Yusuf knew that the world was currently preoccupied with the issue of terrorism, and was therefore "trying to fool the international community into supporting him".