Somalia: Puntland commandos stage mutiny, seize El Bur-bound technicals

GAROWE, Somalia-Complaining of delayed salaries, Puntland commandos have seized central Somalia-bound technicals, Garowe Online reports.

The commandos captured four technicals and a bullet-proof Toyota Land Cruiser bound for Somali government troops in central El Bur town.

The military equipment was embedded in a ship carrying food aid for Puntland, Interim Galmudug Administration (IGA) and flood-hit Hiran earlier this month.

Before leaving for Ethiopia, Puntland President Abdiweli Mohamed Ali ordered Bossaso Port Authority to unload the consignment exempt from any tax.

Nugal clan elders intervened in the seizure of technicals, however efforts to set the consignment free ended in failure in the last 24 hours.

The soldiers had already tinted the cars with a camouflage with which Puntland forces are popular.

“The new step taken by the soldiers opens the gate for destabilization. Now, the solution is for the government to curb such a mutiny in the near future and address underlying causes,” an elder said anonymously.

The mutiny is reported to have been triggered by lack of salaries, welfare and the absence of the repair of pick-up trucks used by Puntland troops.

The incident comes on the heels of massive security operations conducted by Puntland Special Forces in the capital, Garowe.

State civil service workers and security forces have protested non-payment of government salaries and overdue entitlements in recent years.

GAROWE ONLINE