According to the
UK Foreign Office, there is a high threat to Western,
including British, interests from terrorism in Somalia, as
there is in a number of countries in East Africa and the
Horn.  You should be aware that a number of British
nationals and Westerners have been killed and injured in
attacks in Somaliland. The Somaliland authorities believe
these were terrorist inspired. Two British nationals were
shot dead in Sheikh in Oct 2003. In the same month an Italian
aid worker was murdered in Boroma near the border with
Ethiopia. On 19 March 2004, a Kenyan woman working for a
German Government aid organisation was shot dead in an ambush
on the Hargeisa-Berbera road. Her German colleague was
injured in the attack. Several suspects have been detained
for this attack and for the two earlier similar incidents.
This latter attack resulted in the temporary withdrawal of
international aid personnel.

In May 2004, a remote-controlled landmine was found planted
in a remote airstrip in the south of Somalia. UN and European
Commission flights to Somalia are consequently now much
restricted.

The Somaliland authorities have established a Special
Protection Unit (SPU) which accompanies all UN missions
outside Hargeisa. NGOs and individuals can also apply for an
SPU escort at a cost of US$4.00 per day (or US$7.00 per 24
hours). British nationals who decide to stay in or visit
Somaliland, despite our advice to the contrary, are urged to
obtain details of the new system and to ensure that, when
travelling, they take adequate security precautions.

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