19 May 2007 04:19 SOMALIA WATCH |
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Chinese Team Stops Oil Work in Puntland
UN Integrated Regional Information Network (Nairobi) April 10, 2001
A team of seven Chinese oil experts have been removed from their area of operations in the self-declared autonomous region of Puntland, northeastern Somalia, after local protests against their activities. The experts were prospecting for oil in the Nugal Region, southern Puntland, when local people objected to their presence, a local journalist told IRIN. The Chinese team had reportedly signed an agreement with the Puntland authorities, and had been working in the region for 10 days, said the source. People protested that the Chinese team were "conspiring to loot" local resources, the journalist said. They had started work in an old well, north of Garowe, capital of Puntland, he said. The protests began in Eyl District, north of Garowe. Locals have complained that prospecting for oil should be carefully controlled, to make sure that the region benefits. Local sources say the team of seven were taken back to Bosaso, the commercial capital of Puntland, on Monday.
UN Integrated Regional Information Network (Nairobi) April 17, 2001
The Chinese oil mission, delegated by some private firms, to the self-declared autonomous region of Puntland, northeastern Somalia - which had reportedly withdrawn from Nugal Region in southern Puntland on 10 April, following local protests against its activities - has been described by the Puntland administration as in fact having been "enthusiastically welcomed" by local communities. A senior official told IRIN that the mission had not been obstructed, as had earlier been reported by local Somali media. The official said that no official agreement on exploration had yet been signed between the firms and the Puntland administration, and that the mission had merely been carrying out a preliminary fact-finding exercise. Elders had joined Puntland officials in receiving the mission, said the official.
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