Somali community in Zambia; ‘Police have released some of the arrested; others still detained’

The Zambian government has released some Somalis detained in the country in the past few hours.

The chairman of the Somali Community in Zambia, Mohamud Mohamed Hassan, told the BBC that most of the Somali nationals arrested in the past few hours had been released during an operation in Ndola.

Mohamud said the operation was a surprise in a predominantly Somali neighborhood, and noted that no warning had been given before.

“In Ndola, a predominantly Somali neighborhood, there was an operation to arrest mostly business people. We did not receive any reason when we contacted the Zambian Ministry of Interior as these people are in the country legally,” he said.

He added that other Somali businessmen, up to 50, were still being detained.

He noted that the Somali community in Zambia was making further efforts to secure their release, through talks with the government.

“The security forces have kept about 50 people who have been arrested due to having expired papers, but our efforts are to renew them so that they can be released. The Zambian government, despite it being a new administration, has spoken to us about this,” he added.

The statement comes as the Somali government has  strongly condemned the arrests of its citizens and said it was watching the matter closely. 

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