From: Berhane Habtemariam (Berhane.Habtemariam@gmx.de)
Date: Thu Oct 30 2008 - 08:29:00 EST
Somalia beefs up security
October 30 2008 at 12:04PM
Mogadishu - Massive security reinforcements were deployed in Puntland and Somaliland on Thursday, after an unprecedented wave of suicide attacks and amid fears the conflict in central Somalia was spreading.
Investigations were underway to identify the perpetrators of the bombings in the two breakaway Somali regions, which drew international condemnation and came as regional leaders gathered in Nairobi in a bid to boost peace efforts in Somalia.
At least 20 people were killed in addition to the three bombers when three suicide car bombs struck Hargeysa, the capital of Somaliland.
The simultaneous attacks struck the presidential palace, the United Nations Development Programme's compound and Ethiopia's diplomatic representation.
"We are still conducting investigations and many of our security forces are deployed in Hargeysa to check all moving vehicles," police officer Ahmed Hashi said.
Residents said thousands of police and soldiers were patrolling the streets and setting up checkpoints.
"We are collecting samples of the materials we found around the targeted areas and we will also try to check the DNA of the attackers," an investigator said on condition of anonymity.
"I hope we will get some positive results in our investigations soon."
The neighbourhood housing the three targeted building was completely sealed off Thursday, but residents and witnesses of the attacks said the force of the blasts was huge.
"I was in my office on the other side of the palace when this huge explosion rocked the whole compound," presidential palace employee Mohamed Isa said.
"The ceiling collapsed over me and clouds of smoke filled the building."
"The suicide bomber's vehicle was fortunately blocked by another car and could not reach any further area but burning shrapnel and human remains were found some 100 metres away," he added.
Security was also beefed up in Bosasso, the economic capital of the neighbouring northern breakaway region of Puntland, which was hit by two near-simultaneous suicide car bombs. Investigators continued to comb the wreckage of Wednesday's explosions.
"A sufficient number of policemen and other security forces have been deployed all over the region, particularly in Bosasso in order to check the movement of vehicles," police official Abdirahaman Yusuf said.
Presidential adviser Bile Mohamoud Qabowsade said the bombers had been identified and were believed to have been trained by al-Qaeda.
"What we have is that the attackers were trained by al-Qaeda, according to the evidence we have collected, but investigations are still underway," he said.
Witnesses also said that a prominent cleric, Sheikh Mohamed Ismail, was arrested at his home.
"Police raided Sheikh Mohamed's house outside Bosasso and arrested him. I do not know whether others were also detained but I saw the sheikh onboard a police truck," said Abdulaziz Mohamed Abdurahman, a neighbour and local elder.
Washington's top Africa diplomat, US Assistant Secretary of State Jendayi Frazer, also said Wednesday that the attacks in Somaliland and Puntland bore the hallmarks of Al Qaeda.
She was speaking in Nairobi after a summit of heads of state from the regional IGAD (Inter-Governmental Authority on Development) organisation, which was convened to boost peace efforts in Somalia.
The two regions have been largely spared from the daily violence pitting Ethiopian-backed government forces against Islamist insurgents in southern and central Somalia.
Hargeysa is home to thousands of Somalis, mainly from Mogadishu, who were displaced by the fighting and many local residents blamed the refugees for the attacks.
Islamist insurgents in central and southern Somalia are believed to have resorted to suicide attacks against Ethiopian troops before, but there was no immediate claim of responsibility for Wednesday's attacks.
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