More than 50 lawmakers serving in Somalia's Transitional Federal Parliament accused the Somalia’s semi-autonomous state of Puntland of killing more than 200 civilians over the last four years.
The lawmakers, who are mostly from Bay and Bakol regions, displayed on Tuesday a list of 206 names, who were killed by Puntland troops between 2007 and 2011 in southern Somalia.
Among the MPs who attended the meeting in the Somali capital of Mogadishu were former security and defense minister, Ibrahim Isak Yarow, and well known MP Mohamed Sheikh Ali Wosh.
“Puntland administration killed, robbed and displaced dozens families, thousands were detained, while some of them have severely injured after they were accused of having links with al-Shabaab members,” Wosh told Somalia Report.
“We will forward these cases with their evidence to the senior leaders of the government and they should take legal action immediately....., these killings took place in between 2007 and 2011. Some of them were shot dead, some beheaded and others burned to death,” he said.
Wosh urged the international community and the TFG to investigate these cases and take a legal action against people who committed those crime.
However, Puntland Interior Minister Abdulahi Ahmed Jama Ilkajir denied the allegations and accused the MPs of creating another conflict between Putland and southern Somali clans.
“They (MP's) are people who talking meaninglessly. They don’t understand their responsibilities. We are all Somalis and don't care if they are from the south or north,” he told Somalia Report.
“It is not the first time they blamed us. Elders from Bay and Bakol regions who are in Puntland already responded their accusations, which is enough proof that we treat our people equal and respect,” he said.
Currently, at least 20 MPs from the TFG are in Puntland to mediate the fighting which took place in north of Galkayo in Mudug region as well as tribal fighting which recently erupted in Bari and Nugaal region.