Alarm was raised about military helicopters illegally entering Somaliland airspace, hunting wildlife
SOMALIDIASPORANEWS — Somaliland Armed Forces(SAF) have been deployed to Badhan, district in Sanaag region, to observe and deal with the movements and activities of low level flying foreign military helicopters, possibly belong to the counter piracy warships patrolling off the coast of Somalia, which have been reportedly seen illegally hunting wildlife and damaging the environment.
SAF commander in the region captain Yasin Osman Salah and the mayor of Badhan Abdalle Mohamoud Farah have condemned the use of the naval helicopters for carrying out operations that are not in line with the mandate of the international maritime force operating off the coast of Somalia. Captain Salah and Mayor Farah stated that these foreign military helicopters have entered Somaliland airspace illegally and killed camels, captured wildlife and damaged the environment.
In a telephone interview with Dawan News, Somali media outlet based in Hargeisa, the capital of Somaliland, captain Salah said, “These helicopters are military helicopters and possibly from the counter piracy warships patrolling off the coast of Somalia. Yesterday, we reached the locations that these helicopters were spotted and we saw them first time. They were flying at low level, but once they saw the vehicles of the SAF they flew high and left the area immediately.”
“As an army, our objectives are to provide security to the citizens of Somaliland and defend the country. Though this alien small fleet of helicopters left yesterday, we believe they will come back again and again; they present danger to the stability and security of the country. We need the central government to provide the extra resources and weapons required to deter and prevent these military planes entering our country without permission,” the commander of Badhan region added. The helicopters – attached with big nets – were predominantly ‘flown by white men’, who have their vicious eyes on the wild life without considering how their irresponsible actions would affect the lives of the people living in the area, the environment and the security of a sovereign country. But do they care about the security of a small country that does not have piracy and terrorism problems?
Mayor Farah also noted the damage caused by the aforementioned foreign military helicopters. “These helicopters were continuously entering our airspace illegally and doing illegal hunting. It is a modern day economical resource robbery. It is very frightening to see these military helicopters buzzing the area, even camels jumped out of their pens. And the government must take immediate actions,” said the mayor of Badhan.
Though the Somaliland government has yet to make official statement or any reaction, it is very important to let the international community, particularly the maritime forces operating off the coast of Somalia to respect the sovereignty of Somaliland. Their mandate is mainly to ‘deter, prevent and repress acts of piracy and armed robbery’ off the Somalia coast – but not carry out activities that would undermine not only the peace and security of the neighbouring countries, but also damage the environment.
Toosh