Galmudug sign peace pact with Zone 5 administration to end perennial clashes

Galmudug state and zone 5 administration of Ethiopia have today agreed to find lasting peace to incessant clashes between the Ethiopian paramilitary unit, Liyuu police and Somali communities living in the border between the two countries.

Speaking after the conclusion of peace talks with his Zone 5 counterpart Mohamud Abdi Omar, Galmudug leader Abdikarin Hussein Guled said they had sought to stop the clashes once and for all through dialogue.

“Our main discussion was based on two issues; our bilateral relations and the recent clashes at border between the two administrations that have cost many lives from both sides. We agreed upon that each side stops anything that might fuel the clashes,” he said.

The talks come amid attacks by Liyuu police which last month killed 20 people and displaced hundreds of families. A similar attack last year killed 51 Somalis and injured some 200 others.

Human Rights Watch has severally accused Liyuu police of human rights violations including summary executions and torture. The paramilitary unit was formed by the Ethiopian government in 2007 to counter the Ogaden National Liberation Front, ONLF but has since been a used to indiscriminately attack innocent people.

Sources have indicated the unit has taken clan shape fighting as clan militia groups but clad in police uniform.