Information on the above-mentioned topic could not be found among the sources consulted by the DIRB. However, a professor specializing in Somali affairs at the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis noted in a 26 June 1996 telephone interview that northeast Somalia, the traditional homeland of the Majerteen, has been one of the most stable areas of the country since the downfall of Siad Barre in 1991. But the professor cautioned about accepting generalized reports of country conditions because such reportage is rarely specific enough to establish current conditions amongst the clans in a particular locality (ibid.). The professor was unaware of any reports describing current conditions for the Arabta Mohamud Salah (ibid.).

A January 1996 report on Somalia issued by the Canadian High Commission in Nairobi corroborates the professor's description of northeast Somalia, stating that the region is "prosperous and relatively peaceful" (Citizenship and Immigration Canada, Asylum Division 18 Apr. 1996). For recent general information on the situation of the Majerteen, please consult Response to Information Request SOM23319.E of 19 March 1996, which is available at Regional Documentation Centres.

This Response was prepared after researching publicly accessible information currently available to the DIRB within time constraints. This Response is not, and does not purport to be, conclusive as to the merit of any particular claim to refugee status or asylum. Please find below the list of additional sources consulted in researching this Information Request.

Citizenship and Immigration Canada Asylum Division, Refugee Affairs Branch, Hull. 18 April 1996. Letter, including undated telex, from the Canadian High Commission in Nairobi.

Professor specializing in Somali affairs, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis. 26 June 1996. Telephone interview.

Africa Confidential. 1996.

Africa Research Bulletin. 1996.

Current History. 1996.

DIRB Somalia Country File.

Foreign Broadcast Information Service (FBIS) Daily Reports. 1996.

Horn of Africa Bulletin. 1996.

Indexed Media Review (IMR). 1996.

The Indian Ocean Newsletter. 1996.

The Price of Peace: Somalia and the United Nations 1991-1994.

USAID Situation Reports. 1996.

Two oral sources contacted did not provide information on the requested subject.

Note on oral sources:

Oral sources are usually contacted when documentary sources have been exhausted. However, oral sources must agree to be quoted in a publicly available Response to Information Request. If they refuse, the Response will read "no information could be found among the sources consulted." Contacting oral sources is also subject to time constraints; for example, there are periods of the year when academics are unavailable. Long distance calls to Africa are often constrained by limited telecommunications capacity.