Galkayo (Sunatimes) Galmudug president Mohamed Ahmed Alin on Monday morning met traditional elders in Galkayo town to discuss security situation in the city and other towns in the region.

The meeting which was held in Galmudug’s presidential palace in Galkayo was attended by area security officials and other stakeholders.

The meeting focused on ways in which the area administration and traditional elders can cooperate and share security related information and have a common strategy in dealing with insecurity in the region.

During the meeting clan leaders were told to support the administration’s effort to beef up security in the region.

The meeting comes almost three weeks after two foreign aid workers- an American woman and a Danish man working for the Danish Demining Group were kidnapped from the city by a pirate gang. They are reportedly being held for ransom.

The city has in the past few months seen waves of violent assassinations and organised crimes targeting government officials, prominent traditional elders as well as journalists.

Just recently, several Puntland officials including Mudug deputy regional governor Farah Ali Hirsi escaped death narrowly after an explosion hit a car they were travelling in at Garsor neighbourhood, northern Galkayo town, Mudug region.

The deputy governor and one of his bodyguards were slightly injured after a remotely detonated bomb hit his car which was carrying several officials at Garsor neighbour hood in Galkayo city.

Galkayo is divided into two parts, with the north coming under the jurisdiction of Puntland while south comes under Galmudug.

The two breakaway regions of Somalia have been pointing fingers at each other over insecurity in the region.

The relation between two administrations which has been an all-time-low was mended in the Somali capital, Mogadishu, during the recent UN-backed three day consultative meeting.