Somaliland: Government Suspends Universal TV

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HARGEISA (SomalilandPress)—Somaliland’s Minister of Information Mr. Ahmed Abdi Habsade today announced the immediate suspension and operations stoppage of Somali own London based Universal television. This order came in the form of press release from the Ministry of Information that was circulated to all the media outlets in Somaliland. It was last October 6th when former Information Minister Abdullahi Geeljire suspended this controversial TV station for its prejudice coverage of Somaliland’s conflict with Puntland.
According to Minister of Information Habsade on his press release “Universal TV has made a custom to instigate clan disagreements between the Somaliland tribes in Sool region for its own ratings”.
In the most recent incident of the Kalashale conflict between Somaliland forces and local SSC militia Universal TV fallaciously aired images of dead civilians it said were the result of Somaliland forces. However an investigation by the Somaliland government has shown Universal’s pictures to be false and the dead pictures that Universal TV aired on Feb 3rd were from the city of Baidabo in southern Somalia and not from Kalashale conflict.Continued