Somaliland Dismisses Ethiopia’s Allegations of illegally displacing Oromo People

Horndiplomat-Last week Ethiopia’s accused neighboring Somaliland of illegally displacing more than 3,000 long-term Oromo residents in the wake of clashes on the boundary between two of Ethiopia’s regional states.

Ethiopia Information Minister Negeri Lencho told reporters Monday in the capital, Addis Ababa. He said the eastern part of Oromia experienced “bloody conflict” in the clashes along the more than 1,500-kilometer (932-mile) state border this month and described Oromos as having been targeted there, in Ethiopia’s Somali region and in Somaliland, without elaborating.

Meanwhile the Somaliland’s foreign affairs minister, Dr. Sa’ad Ali Shire has dismissed the allegations that Ethiopia’s minister for information, Dr. Ngeri Lencho, leveled against Somaliland government deliberately displacing three thousand of Oromo ethnic community in Somaliland. Ethiopia’s information minister made the remarks during media briefing about the ethnic clashes between Oromo and Somali people.

In an interview with Geeska Afrika, local Somali newspaper, Somaliland foreign minister, Sa’ad Ali Shire has rebuffed the allegations as baseless and has revealed that Somaliland takes care of Oromo community. Somaliland minister has said that hospitality of Somaliland citizens are well known and added that they show a high sense of mercy and caring towards ethnic Oromo community in the country.

The minister has asserted that 10, 000 registered Oromo community in the country although he disclosed that there are few numbers that are unaccounted. He further stated that Oromo community has been in the country since its inception. The minister further noted that since then they have coexisted and lived in peace with the country’s citizens without facing any harms.

The minister has said that ever since voilence erupted between Oromo and Somali people which led the slaying of 40 innocent Somali civilians in Hawaday that certain Oromo community left to police stations in the country on their accord  who requested to be repatriate back to Ethiopia. The minister has announced that they have been transported back to the Wajale, the border town that links Somalilad to Ethiopia without facing any perils. Local Imams, traditional leaders, intellectuals and the government called on citizens to protect Oromo community in the aftermath of the Hawaday massacre.

The minister has added that Somaliland does not deport Oromo people but said that the country has violated its laws by allowing number of Oromo community to remain in the country illegally. The minister was taken aback to realize comments from Ethiopia’s information minister, Dr. Ngeri Lencho accusing Somaliland of intentionally displacing thousands of Oromo community from Somaliland. The minister has stated that a high profile Ethiopian delegation led by its ambassador to Egypt, Hon. Mohamed Dirir arrived in the country yesterday so as to repair the strained relations between the two neighboring countries The brisking Khat trade between Ethiopia and Somaliland halted after the killing of Somali people in Hawaday.

SOURCE:HORNDIPLOMAT & SOMALILANDINFORMER