Somalia: Ex-Puntland President accuses Al Shabaab of revenge execution

GAROWE, Somalia March 6, 2013 (Garowe Online)-The former President of Somalia’s northeastern state of Puntland Dr. Abdirahman Mohamed Farole for the first time spoke on Al Shabaab’s execution of three men who were charged with spying in Barawe coastal town of southern Somalia on Tuesday, Garowe Online reports. 

Dr. Farole’s nephew Ahmed Abdullahi Mohamed Farole was executed for spying for Puntland according to self-appointed Al Shabaab judge but former Puntland leader unveiled that the terror group of Al Shabaab retaliated with arbitrary execution against his nephew. 

“According to the media, Al Shabaab group accused late Ahmed of spying the secrecy of fugitive Al Shabaab members in Golis Mountain ranges which lies between Puntland and Somaliland for Puntland government,” Dr. Farole said in an emailed statement.

“It is clear that Ahmed was executed in accordance with wrong verdict, he was executed in revenge act and in error at the expense of his nephew [Abdirahman Shiekh Mohamed Farole],” the statement read. 

Former Puntland President condemned the heinous execution of late Ahmed for Al Shabaab, revealing that his administration launched deadly assaults on Al Shabaab hideouts in mid-2010 in an effort to dislodge the militant group’s remnants from their bases along Golis Mountains and in Galgala area. 

Taking a look back at his public speeches during his tenure of office, Farole recalled a statement he delivered on 1^st of August 2010 when Puntland people were celebrating 12 years of statehood: “The true believer is the one who keeps other Muslims safe from his hand and mouth, will we remain safe from the mouths and hands of those who are lying about Islam [Al Shabaab]?, it is untrue. henceforth what are they?, they are devils, they are liers, bloodthirsty killers and flesh-eaters”.

President Farole’s nephew Ahmed Abdullahi Mohamed Farole has spent much of  his life over the last two decades of chaos as a businessman in Banadir and Lower Shabelle regions of southern Somalia. 

Farole handed over office to the current Puntland President Dr. Abdiweli Mohamed Ali Gaas on January 8 after tightly contested presidential elections.

GAROWEONLINE