Somalia: Puntland and Galmudug withdraw participation from Istanbul conference

The governments of Puntland and Galmudug have withdrawn from a planned trip to the Republic of Turkey, where the Istanbul Conference Il on Somalia is supposed to take place 31 May 2012 - 1 June 2012. A press release said the event was not a Somali-owned process and the purpose and agenda of the conference was ambiguous.