Somaliland Govt suspends operations of ICRAF NGO

Hargeisa – CBA TV, The government of Somaliland has stopped the operations of the International Council for Research in Agroforestry, ICRAF.

The organization which calls itself a center of science and development excellence, that harnesses the benefits of trees for people and the environment.

The research council was to carry out studies on refugee camps in Kenya, Ethiopia, Somalia, Uganda, and South Sudan.

Somaliland says it doesn’t fall under Somalia, thus making studies carried out in camps in Somaliland and particularly on the outskirts of the capital Hargeisa, illegal.

The chairman of the National displacement and refugee agency said in a letter sent to his office, the organization referred to Marodijeh region as the Northwest region.

Marodhi jeh region was known as the Northwest region of the Somali republic before Somaliland declared itself independent from the rest of Somalia in 1991.

The government is furious about ICRAF’s decision not to regard Somaliland as an independent sovereign state.

Abdikarim Ahmed Hiniff, the chairman of the National displacement and refugee agency said he has met the minister for planning and national development and they intend to take tougher declaration on the matter.

Abdikarim Hiniff said, “The request of ICRAF, was to conduct research and studies on certain internally displaced and refugee camps in Kenya, Ethiopia Somalia, South Sudan and Uganda”.

Somaliland is not on that list, added the chairman.

The chairman of the agency also added “It has also stated that it is conducting studies in three camps in Somalia and Somaliland, Tabasa, Shimbirale and Ex-Mandera in Northwestern Hargeisa. This is a grave mistake, there is nothing like Ex-Mandera. We also want to know what is the Northwest state. That means they are getting statistics from Somalia. That is not the case”.

Leveraging the world’s largest repository of agroforestry science and information, the organization whose operations have been halted in Hargeisa develops knowledge practices to ensure food security and environmental sustainability.

ICRAF is the only institution that does globally significant agroforestry research in and for all of the developing tropics.

Yunis Dekow