Somaliland government on Wednesday released 11 prisoners who hail from Puntland in which the Somaliland National Army captured during the fighting that took place in Lasanod, Sool’s provincial capital in 2023.
The Ministers of interior, presidency, civil aviation, the Army Chief and the Police Commissioner saw off the prisoners at Egal Int’l Airport in Hargeisa.
King Osman Mohamud Buurmadow and other traditional chiefs accompanied the prisoners on the way back to Garowe and will hand over them to Puntland authority.
On the other hand, Puntland authority released 15 prisoners from captivity who were captured in Sool fighting that took place in 2023.
Somaliland Justice Minister, Yonis Ahmed Yonis who posted a statement on his Facebook account has pointed out that the exchange of prisoners represents the neighborhood and to live in peace.
He said: “Peace and good neighborhood are the basis of the Republic of Somaliland. Somaliland is a sign of peace as repeated by Somaliland President Abdirahman Mohamed Abdillahi Irro. Our government policy is to live in peace with neighboring countries and to cooperate on the peace efforts in Sool region.”
He said: “On the basis of the decision of Somaliland president to find peace and normalize the trade movement of the communities in the Eastern regions of Somaliland, Somaliland has decided to release 11 prisoners in line with int’l laws.”
The exchange of prisoners came after Somaliland and Puntland agreed to swap the prisoners.
