Somalia’s autonomous state of Puntland blamed the NATO naval forces patrolling Somali waters for failing to stop al-Shabaab militants that reached the Northern coastal villages of the region by Sea, Horseed Media reports.
In a Press statement released after the weekly cabinet meeting, Puntland said that it was ‘’concerned’’ about the lack of commitment from NATO to fight against the terrorists.
Dozens of al-Shabaab militants landed at Gara’ad coastal village earlier this week using speedboats from Central Somalia, later on moving to other coastal villages in Nugal province where clashes between the militants and Puntland security forces have been going for the past three days.
Puntland called for the support of International partners such as IGAD, Djibouti, Ethiopia, Kenya, European Union and U.S. that help the Federal government in the fight against al-Shabaab extremists.
Piracy off the coast of Somalia splashed onto the global stage in 2009 at near epidemic levels. NATO, the European Union and other countries deployed warships to patrol the dangerous waters off the Horn of Africa to prevent pirates from seizing passing ships.
Horseed Media
Somalia: Puntland blames NATO naval forces for failing to block al-Shabaab militants
Published: March 18, 2016
