Somaliland: Citizens will vote for the second time in 8 years, al-Shabaab islamic fighters have threatened voters
Somalia’s Al Qaeda-inspired al-Shabaab warned voters in the northern self-proclaimed state of Somaliland not to vote in the presidential elections, in an audio message obtained by AFP Friday.
“Those who take part in those so-called elections will face the consequences,” Ahmed Abdi Godane, the overall leader of the al-Shabaab group, said in the message released ahead of Somaliland’s Saturday polls.
Godane, also known as “Abu Zubayr” and a native of the Somaliland capital Hargeisa, said the elections were organised by the anti-Islamic forces in Somalia.
Somaliland’s presidential polls, which were delayed three times since 2008, are due to go ahead on Saturday, 50 years to the day after the territory obtained its independence from Britain.