“Who Killed 13 Men Off Puntland’s Coast? Mogadishu Meeting Raises Pressure for Answers Over Alleged Turkish Strike”

MOGADISHU, Somalia (WDN) — Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud met with Puntland traditional leader Islaan Ciise Islaan Mohamed at the presidential palace on Saturday night to discuss a deadly strike off the coast of Nugaal region that reportedly killed 13 people, amid conflicting accounts over the victims’ identities and growing calls for accountability.

According to senior Puntland figures who spoke to WardheerNews, the meeting focused on the reported bombardment near the coastal areas of Garmaal and Jiifle, which Puntland authorities say killed 13 fishermen. The incident has raised serious questions about the circumstances of the attack and the use of military force against people whom Puntland describes as civilians engaged in fishing.

Sources told WDN that Islaan Ciise urged the federal government to play a more active role in establishing the facts, determining responsibility and ensuring that the victims’ families receive justice.

Puntland has accused Turkish forces of carrying out the strike against civilians who, according to the regional administration, had no involvement in security-related activities. The allegations have intensified scrutiny of Turkey’s military role in Somalia and the safeguards in place to protect civilians during security operations.

The federal government, however, has offered a sharply different account, describing those killed as pirates rather than fishermen. That discrepancy lies at the centre of the controversy: whether the victims were civilians unlawfully targeted or individuals involved in maritime criminal activity.

Turkey has not yet issued an official public response to the allegations, according to the report. Without a detailed account from the Turkish authorities, independent verification of the target, the circumstances of the strike and the identities of those killed remains essential.

The meeting between President Hassan Sheikh and Islaan Ciise comes as uncertainty persists over what happened off the Nugaal coast. The competing accounts from Puntland and the federal government have heightened demands for a credible investigation rather than allowing the dispute to be settled through competing political statements.

A transparent inquiry should establish who carried out the strike, what intelligence informed the operation, whether the victims were armed or engaged in fishing, and what procedures were followed to minimise civilian casualties. Any evidence of unlawful targeting should be investigated and addressed through appropriate legal channels.

For the families of the 13 people reported killed, the central issue is not political rivalry between Garowe and Mogadishu, but the right to know how their relatives died and whether that responsible will be held accountable.

The case also raises a broader question about military cooperation between Somalia and Turkey: what mechanisms exist to investigate alleged civilian deaths when foreign forces are involved, and how can affected families obtain justice?

Until the facts are independently established, the victims’ identities and the circumstances of the strike remain contested. But the reported loss of 13 lives demands a serious response, a credible investigation and clear answers from the authorities involved.

WardheerNews