> Somaliland has issued important decisions and directives related to aviation and aircraft management.
> Mogadishu is planning a new plan that is dangerous for Somaliland.
Hargeisa (ANN)-Somaliland and Somalia are facing an escalating airspace dispute that has affected thousands of Somaliland diaspora who want to return to their country, or are planning to do so. The Federal Government’s forced E-visa system for passengers arriving in Mogadishu and Hargeisa has fueled tensions in the airspace, affecting both inbound and outbound flights.
The President of the Republic of Somaliland, Abdirahman Mohamed Abdullahi (Cirro), has said that his government is prioritizing the protection of the country’s airspace and building full technical and administrative capacity, so that Somaliland can officially control its airspace.
The Federal Government of Mogadishu has ordered that passenger flights pass through Mogadishu before landing at Hargeisa Airport and elsewhere outside Mogadishu Airport.
The Somaliland government strongly opposed the plan, and held a meeting called (Somaliland-Somaliland Regional Development Plan).
Related: Somalia, Somaliland spar again over visas and airspace
The meeting produced a number of points that opposed the Mogadishu plan.
The press release attached to the meeting is as follows.
Somaliland and Somalia are facing an escalating airspace dispute that has affected thousands of Somaliland diaspora who want to return to their country, or are planning to do so. The Federal Government’s forced e-visa system for passengers arriving in Mogadishu and Hargeisa has fueled tensions in the airspace, affecting both inbound and outbound flights.
The President of the Republic of Somaliland, Abdirahman Mohamed Abdullahi (Cirro), has said that his government is prioritizing the protection of the country’s airspace and building full technical and administrative capacity, so that Somaliland can officially control its airspace.”>
Root of the Conflict: The E-Visa Order
Related: Somaliland Civil Aviation has imposed strict orders on aircraft using its airspace
Written by Arraale M. Jama, a freelance journalist and human rights activist.