PIS: Puntland’s Sub-clan terror Unit

As we approach the 10^th anniversary of those horrific terrorist attacks on America, America’s war on terror has taken many faces and has been waged in many corners around the globe under different pretext; and worse used entirely for different purposes whether it be to defend clan interests or settle territorial disputes. The terrorist card has become a national and international metal that could be bent to serve powerful people in office to subjugate and isolate those who they perceive to be enemies of the state. Many Americans might be surprised how a noble idea to defend self and country here and abroad have spiraled into a perpetual hegemonic conquest by rogue governments against innocent civilians.

 The deadly terrorist game is unfortunately weaved into the political quagmire of modern Somali politics. While southern Somalia has the well-entrenched terrorist group Alshabaab that are armed to the teeth, it is the more peaceful North that has taken the terrorist card to new heights. A self-perpetuated killing spree spearheaded by notorious thugs known as the Puntland Intelligence Service (PIS) have staged clannish killings to justify an all out war against ‘rival sub-clan’ in high dense populated areas of Puntland. The semi-autonomous region of Puntland, once a prosperous and peaceful region, is semi-arid land deprived of any economic viability except human potential. Its only income streams came from business taxation, airports, and the economic hub of the state-the port. It is no wonder America’s war on terror was viewed in this part of the world as another means of diversifying its economic portfolio along with the alleged piracy operations. With meager resources to pay for security personnel, army, and police it was a dream-come-true for the Puntland administration to get funding for a well-trained and fed sub-clan militia to find real terrorists. Eventually, they become to embody an entity they wished to destroy; terrorists.

Though Puntland is composed of many sub-clans, PIS is exclusively composed of one sub-clan. This overrepresentation inevitably caused them to defend the aspirations, claims, and territorial lands of that constituency. They are the main force deployed by Puntland to haunt minorities, southerners, and mingle in sub-clan territorial disputes. This CIA-funded group has waged avoidable wars to get more funding from Washington, not surprising, against ‘rival sub-clans.’ The forceful capture of hapless southerners is the cornerstone of these thugs, and lately with Washington tightening its vault, saw the extension of these merciless tactics to peaceful “rival sub-clans.” With not judicial system, and the few that are set up mainly to retract the rulings of the day before, these ruthless thugs act with impunity. At desperate times, and to keep the proverbial wheel rolling, they have become provocateurs and instigators of clannish wars between brotherly sub-clans in major urban areas that coexisted for centuries. After dismal successes in Bari, they moved to Mudug.

After year and some of instigating clannish warfare in Mudug, they have become too impatient for their own devices to materialize. After the PIS killed a well-known peace-maker, Hassan Waloore, the family of the man without any assistance from the state captured two of the three hit men. Through these men, the family came to know of the funds and the source of the endless killings that have become too familiar in Puntland. It was clear through these men that they worked and collected from the PIS office in Galkacyo. After all, one would need a well-oiled, organized, and systematic infrastructure to carry out such heinous acts. What would hapless and stateless person in Garsoor gain from killing former political and prominent individuals? The PIS and the Puntland state are one and the same. The state apparatus approves and uses the services of this junta freely. They wage coordinated attacks, share intelligence, and in Garsoor have combined forces to fight against “a rival sub-clan.” You would think the sheer audacity of such attacks against a ‘rival sub-clan’ while using all the resources of the state would shame these state-sponsored thugs but their plan was even more deadly. This form of collective punishment against sub-clans is not new to these thugs. They have used these same tactics against another ‘rival clan’ in Sanaag when they cut all food supplies and convoys from entering or exiting the area. In the Garsoor region, these hateful thugs have gone one step further by restoring to medical terrorism.

Medical Terrorism

The PIS thugs denied bystanders and civilians the medical attention they needed the most. As if using excessive power and deadly bombardment of residential areas with heavy artillery, Anti-aircraft guns, tikniko, and tangs was not enough; they barred (through closure or otherwise) the injured from the two hospitals in Galkacyo. The two main hospitals in Galkacyo Mudug General Hospital (MGH) and Galkacyo Medical Center (GMC) were specifically closed to Garsoor residents while the PIS, Puntland army, and sub-clan militias that shelled residential areas miraculously got medical treatment. The only private hospital in Garsoor, Al-Xayaat, was not only specifically targeted by the PIS thugs but all of its equipment confiscated, looted, and taken by them. This is one awkward way of fighting terrorism.

The people of Garsoor faced this medical discrimination in their supposedly ‘home country’ which they have undoubtedly both defended with their blood in the past and contributed mightily to its economic growth. They pay taxes and provide jobs to local residents. Many of the damaged properties were well fortified and built architectural designs that provided amenities rarely found in other parts of Somalia. As this calamity fall on the people of Garsoor, it was the ‘perceived enemy’ which welcomed and hosted the Garsoor community. The South Hospital of Galmudug provided temporary refuge to their brothers who were under siege by the combined forces of the PIS and the Puntland army. Their hospitable generosity was not only medical but also housing for the many families and children due to the merciless bombardment. A demonstration of bravery was Caalin’s presidential and calculated BBC interviews where he called Puntland authorities to stop the ‘sub-clan warfare’ and killing innocent civilians. Contrast this with the criminal Faroole who as always clannish by nature and un-presidential as usual promised more bloodshed and destruction.

The Holland MSF agency has strong ties with the three hospitals in Galkacyo, including the one in Galmudug. The PIS must have been infuriated when they heard of the medical attention given to the ‘rival sub-clan.’ They worked tirelessly to end such an outreach. It was days later that this wish was granted when all injured individuals no matter how critical were asked to evacuate the hospital immediately due to eminent threats. The injured were flown to Nairobi, Mogadishu, and Mudug General Hospital-Galdogob. This might sound surreal to many people around the world who would be surprised by such hatred and skewed justices, but more surprisingly the PIS is defending a sub-clan that controls more than 50% of the Puntland parliament, hold 80% of all government positions, and own about 70% of all businesses. For instance in the Mudug administration, although the Leelkase populate the state as much as the Mudug Majeerteen, they get less than 5% of all allocated positions in the region. Indeed, as these PIS thugs found out recently, Leelkase is only a minority in paper.

 I believe it was the great sheikh Cumar Faaruuq who said that Somalia did not seep into self-destruction because of clan, but injustice. It is injustice first that fuels insurgents; it is exclusionary politics that puts people in different camps to start riots and revolts. Indeed, our semi-arid region has been on the one thousand proverbial Chinese miles to catastrophe and has crossed the half-way mark.

  

Ahmed 'Girdho' Aden

a.girdho@hotmail.com