(AFP) –
MOGADISHU — Authorities in autonomous Somaliland said Sunday they
opened an investigation into a plane seized en route to neighbouring
Puntland that contained military supplies and two South Africans
posing as journalists.
"We have sent transferred the case to the prosecutor and the affair
will now go through the courts," said Transport Minister Mohamud Abdi
Hashi.
The government of Somaliland, a northern region of Somalia which has
declared independence but is yet to be internationally recognised,
made the decision to investigate on Saturday evening, Hashi said.
Hashi said prosecutors would probe a violation of Somaliland airspace,
the violation of an international embargo on arms to Somalia, and the
presence of two South Africans who passed themselves off as
journalists.
Somaliland authorities seized the plane on December 10 after it was
forced to land in regional capital Hargeysa because it was short on
fuel.
It was heading to Puntland, another autonomous Somali region which is
home to many of the pirates who threaten international shipping in the
Gulf of Aden and Indian Ocean, after travelling from South Africa via
Uganda.
It contained military equipment including uniforms and there were six
people on board, authorities said.
Tensions run high between Somaliland and Puntland, which are separated
by a disputed territory where armed clashes sporadically break out.
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