HARGEISA (Somaliguardian) – Police in the break-away state of Somaliland on Monday expelled dozens of refugees from the town of Erigavo, in a massive operation targeting people from south Somalia who had fled their homes due to conflict in their regions.
Somaliland president Muse Bihi Abdi said this month that his state could not take the burden of refugees from the southern Somalia regions and that his administration had no other option than to expel hundreds of people, including business people.
The United Nations earlier said more than 7,000 people had been forcefully evicted from the town of Lasanod by Somaliland authorities. In response, Bihi accused the UN of “hypocrisy”, adding that it had failed to provide assistance to the refugees who had been living in the town for almost 30 years.
Footage circulated online showed dozens of police vehicles racing with refugees detained by police, who were then loaded on to trucks to drive them to the neighboring region of Puntland.
The move followed a 15-day ultimatum given by the authorities in Erigavo for the refugees to leave the town.
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