GAROWE, Somalia May 16 (Garowe Online) - Friday's weekly Islamic sermons at mosques in northern Somalia's Puntland territory focused on a recent wave of arbitrary arrests across the region, in which at least 15 Somalis were detained by the security forces without warrant or court appearance.

Sheikh Ahmed Dahir, an Islamic cleric in the port city of Bossaso, told hundreds of mosque congregants that it is "unfortunate" the Puntland administration would target and arrest Somali civilians without reason.

Traditional elders and community leaders have issued press statements condemning the arrests as being "against the norms of Somali culture," with suggestions that such arrests only help to further tarnish Puntland's reputation as a lawful land in a lawless country.

Bossaso, Somalia

In recent weeks, local media has documented a pattern of arrests carried out by officers from the Puntland Intelligence Service (PIS), a secretive government arm with ties to the CIA.

On April 22, two Central Committee members of the Ogaden National Liberation Front (ONLF) were arrested in Garowe, the Puntland government's seat of power.

The two men – Abdinur Mohamed Soyan and Dhire Oof – were later transferred over to Ethiopian intelligence services by PIS officers, igniting the beginning of an extradition program that has been widely condemned as illegal and immoral.

Last Wednesday, five Somali men were arrested at an airport in Bossaso by PIS officers, with emerging reports indicating that the men are accused of being active members of the ONLF – an Ethiopian rebel group fighting for self-determination for the Somali-dominated Ogaden region. [READ: More Civilians Arrested for Alleged Links to Ethiopia Rebels]

The governor of Bari region, which includes Bossaso, confirmed to Radio Garowe during a Friday interview that the five men are being held inside a local jail.

"It is propaganda…the reports that Somalis were given over to Ethiopia," said Bari Governor Muse Ghelle Farole, adding he had "no knowledge" of any incident where the Puntland government transferred civilians over to the Ethiopian government.

The Governor stated that the Puntland Cabinet has recently voted to introduce stricter security measures at key checkpoints in the region, including Bander Qassim International Airport in Bossaso.

The ongoing anti-ONLF security sweep in Puntland, carried out by PIS and Ethiopian intelligence officers, began in April during a visit to Addis Ababa by Puntland President Adde Muse.

The Puntland leader has not returned home yet although he is expected in Bossaso in the coming days.

The Puntland administration has close political and military ties with neighboring Ethiopia, links which are deeply rooted in the Ethiopian government's alliance with Somali President Abdullahi Yusuf, a former Puntland ruler.

Source: Garowe Online