31/05/08 (B450) Garowe online : « pluie » d’obus de mortiers sur l’aéroport de Galkayo au Puntland, sans faire de victimes mais de gros dégâts matériels aux bâtiments – Il n’y avait pas d’avions présents sur le tarmac – On pense que les obus auraient été tiré d’une zone hors de la juridiction du Puntland – Somalia: Mortars rain down on airport in Puntland (En Anglais – Info lecteur)

GALKAYO, Somalia May 30 (Garowe Online) – At least two loud explosions were heard Friday morning across the Somali town of Galkayo, part of the semiautonomous region of Puntland, residents and officials said.

There were no reports of any casualties, but witnesses said the explosions caused some damage on buildings at the airport in Galkayo.

There were no planes on the ground at the airport during the time of the attack.

Dahir Aflow, the governor of Mudug region, confirmed to Radio Garowe from his Galkayo office that the explosions were caused by mortars, but said he will give a detailed response when the ongoing investigation is concluded.

Galkayo residents speculated that the mortars originated from the southern part of town, which is outside the jurisdiction of the Puntland administration.

The town of Galkayo lies on the border area between the northeastern state of Puntland and Somalia’s central regions, which are dominated by the Hawiye clan that formed the core of the Islamic Courts movement and is now believed to be backing the insurgency.

Much of central and southern Somalia remains a lawless land, despite the presence of thousands of Ethiopian troops backing the country’s UN-recognized transitional government.

In February, Islamist rebels were blamed for a deadly explosion in the Puntland port city of Bossaso that killed more than 20 Ethiopian migrants.

The Islamists have also been blamed for a recent string of assassinations in Bossaso targeting members of the Puntland Intelligence Service (PIS), a government arm with ties to Ethiopian and U.S. intelligence communities.