Belgians arrested in Somaliland

The authorities in Somalia's breakaway region of Somaliland have arrested three Belgian immigration officials because they did not have the proper papers. The officials were accompanying a Somali man deported from Belgium. The Somaliland authorities said not only did the Belgians have no visas, but also they did not have the required documents for repatriating the man. The deportee was sent back to Ethiopia, from where the group had taken a connecting flight.

Somaliland declared its independence from Somalia in 1991 following the overthrow of dictator Mohamed Siad Barre. However, the country is not recognised internationally.