by Elizabeth Baier , Minnesota Public Radio,
Laura Yuen , Minnesota Public Radio

St. Paul, Minn. — The top official from one of the relatively peaceful regions in wartorn Somalia gave the keynote address at an event Tuesday in Minneapolis celebrating Somali Independence Day.

Abdirahman Farole, the president of Puntland, a semi-autonomous region of Somalia, visited the Twin Cities after testifying about his country at a Congressional hearing in Washington D.C.

He says he sees Puntland playing a central role in bringing stability to the entire country. Farole says the international community should support the relatively peaceful regions in northern Somalia, and deliver humanitarian aid to assist the masses of people fleeing violence in the south.

"A huge displacement is occuring place in the south, and people are going across the border into Puntland," he said. Puntland is hosting hundreds of thousands of displaced people currently in need."

Farole says his administration is asking religious leaders in Puntland to help prevent new recruitment of pirates through education and what he calls "spiritual healing." Read Full Article