At least one person has been seriously wounded and several others were injured in riots at a football stadium in the capital city of the northern Somali break away Republic of Somaliland, Hargeisa, about 1,600 kilometres north-west of Mogadishu late on Monday.
Eye witness accounts say that a little while after a football match kicked off, heavily armed police stormed the stadium and ordered fans and the players out of the stadium, because the government did not authorize the match.
Reports say that police used bullets as fans were reluctant to obey their orders and as a result, an old man was seriously wounded.
For the past three days, football competitions arranged by the Kulmiye opposition party have been taking place at the Hargeisa football stadium which the government said was a politically motivated football match which is damaging security in the region.
Kulmiye party authorities however said that they had permission from Somaliland’s Youth and Sports minister whom the police said had ordered them to stop the competition which cannot be compatible with the country’s policy.
According to some residents in Hargeisa, dozens of angry fans have been burning tires and throwing stones at the police since on Monday.
Somaliland announced its separation from the rest of Somalia in May 1991, but the break away region still lacks international recognition as an independent state. The region is relatively peaceful in comparison to the rest of Somalia.
Source: APA
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