"We have legal agreements with these companies and we will continue our program, for the interest of Puntland. We have done 200 projects in Puntland so far," Muse said.
Thousands of people have streamed into Puntland in recent months, some fleeing the war in Mogadishu and others fleeing persecution in neighboring Ethiopia.
The region's close proximity to the Middle East and its lax laws have made it the ideal ground for migrants seeking to cross the Gulf of Aden into Yemen, and perhaps beyond.The president of Somalia's Puntland administration, Gen. Mohamud "Adde" Muse, linked a series of criminal activities in the region to a former Cabinet minister who resigned earlier this month.
President Muse told the Voice of America's Somali program Tuesday that gunmen who kidnapped two foreign workers in the Gulf of Aden port city of Bossaso earlier today are surrounded and are "facing off" with police somewhere outside city limits.
The female aid workers, one from Spain and the other from Argentina, worked for MSF-Spain in Bossaso, officials said.
The Puntland leader said an increase in criminal activities in the region in recent months is linked to the arrival of many people from different regions, some with sinister intentions.
"The last six months have led to increased number of people into Puntland,"
Muse said... the "enemies of Puntland" pay people to commit acts aimed at destabilizing the region.
"All the kidnappers are mercenaries who were paid off to create instability. We are investigating them," Muse said.
But President Muse also admitted that there are enemies of Puntland from within.
Asked a question whether these criminal acts are linked to his recent Cabinet reshuffle, Muse said: "This is not possible. We chased away a man [Minister Said Mohamed Rage] who is the same clan as the kidnappers. And right now he is the one responsible for many things." [READ: Puntland minister resigns, accuses president of 'power abuse'"]
On exploration, Puntland President Adde Muse defended his policy and said drilling plans with go forward.
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