Africa
Ethiopia soldiers accused of collecting 'illegal' tax along Somalia border
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May 3, 2008 - 6:13:00 PM

BELETWEIN, Somalia May 3 (Garowe Online) - The Ethiopian army is collecting taxes in frontier districts along the country's shared border with Somalia, a former district official has said.

Abdirahman Buruki, a former deputy mayor in Beletwein, the capital of Hiran region, told journalists Saturday that Ethiopian soldiers along the Kala-Beyr border crossing are causing "a lot of problems" for civilian and commercial traffic traveling between Somalia and Ethiopia.

Mr. Buruki, who resigned from his post a month ago, indicated that the Ethiopian soldiers are accompanied by former Hiran regional government officials.

He stated that tens of trucks are filed in a line near the Kala-Beyr crossing, adding that the Kala-Beyr mayor informed him personally that the soldiers are collecting "illegal" taxes while accusing the Ethiopian soldiers was "torture" in some extreme cases.

According to Mr. Buruki, former Hiran Governor Yusuf Daboged is "no longer a government official," although he is in Kala-Beyr alongside the Ethiopian army commanders running the illegal operation.

Somali Prime Minister Nur "Adde" Hassan Hussein has recently appointed a new administration for Hiran region, but many of the newly appointed officials have publicly rejected their posts. [ Full story]

Source; Garowe Online