Mogadishu (Sunatimes) The commemoration of International Peace Day has been marked in several cities of Somalia, including the war-torn capital, Mogadishu.

People in several Somali cities have taken part in various activities and organize events centered on the theme of the day “Peace and Democracy” as Somalis have been longing for peace for the last two decades.

A colourful ceremony was held in Mogadishu’s Wadajir district attended by Somalia’s interior and national security minister Abdisamad Maalim Mohamud in marking the significant day.

The minister praised area administration and locals in the district for lobbying peace and fighting militants creating havoc in the district.

He promised that the government will do every thing to boost the moral of the locals as far as security is concerned.

Elsewhere, a similar ceremony was held in Garowe, the capital city of the breakaway region of Puntland.

Several government officials and international aid agencies in the region converged in the Puntland’s Development and Research Centre (PDRC) in Garowe to mark the day.

PDRC’s director Abdirahman Abdulle Shuke has noted the significance of marking the day, saying that Peace as a fundamental right is much needed in the Horn of Africa.

A UN resolution established the International Day of Peace in 1981 to coincide with the opening of the UN General Assembly.

The first Peace Day was celebrated in 1982 and was held on the third Tuesday of September each year until 2002, when September 21 became the permanent date for the International Day of Peace.

The assembly decided in 2001 that the International Day of Peace should be annually observed on September 21 starting from 2002.

Despite the day was commemorated in several parts of the country, people in Al-Shabaab controlled areas in southern Somalia could join the rest of the world in marking the day.

Al-Shabaab considers such days as an Islamic, threatening to punish anyone trying to celebrate the day.

By Dahir Alasow