Guuleed Salah Barre, the former chairman of the Puntland electoral commission, has accused Puntland President Said Deni of hiring mercenary companies to extract resources from Puntland.
“You are now aware that Puntland’s natural resources are being illegally extracted, that mercenary companies have been hired, that they want to plunder the resources that were especially in the Sanaag and Bari regions,” said Guuleed Salah, who arrived in Garowe today.
Guuleed Salah also accused President Deni of turning Puntland into a business company that serves his family members, indicating that it is destroying the hope that his re-election would correct the mistakes made during his previous term.
He said that President Deni wants to send Puntland’s economy to Mogadishu again, which according to him has already led to a decline in Puntland’s economy, increased unemployment and migration of educated youth.
He said that there is a need to jointly prevent the destruction that President Deni is causing in Puntland. Guuleed added that the conflict between Puntland and the Federal Government of Somalia is a conflict based on personal interests that Deni lost to the Federal Government.
Guuleed was the candidate who ran against President Deni in the final round of the 2024 Puntland presidential election.
