The Deputy First Speaker of Puntland’s regional parliament, Mr. Mohamed Baari Shire, has called on the nomads living in the Al-Miskaad Mountain area to immediately evacuate the area within five days, as operations against the ISIS group are currently taking place. He emphasized that those who choose to remain in the area after the designated five-day period will be considered as working with the terrorist groups. The First Deputy Speaker also stated that Puntland security forces will intensify their operations in the Al-Miskaad Mountains. In his statement, the First Deputy Speaker urged local residents to evacuate the areas where intense fighting is taking place while the operations against ISIS are ongoing. He warned that anyone who remains in the area after the five-day period will be designated as a terrorist. He also called on traditional elders and the community in the area to cooperate with the security forces in bringing out people who have taken refuge in the Al-Miskaad Mountains. The First Deputy Speaker also mentioned that attacks on civilians, such as the forcible taking of livestock from nomads, are unacceptable and that it is dangerous for civilians to remain in a zone where heavy fighting is underway. He pledged that Puntland security forces will intensify their military operations in the area, as there have been casualties and security incidents in the past. The statement from the Puntland Parliament leadership came after an airstrike targeted a nomad family in the Al-Miskaad Mountains, resulting in the death of a pregnant mother and three of her children.
