BBC Monitoring Service - United Kingdom; Nov 20, 2001

Ships and private aircraft which operate from the coastal town of Berbera in the self-declared republic of Somaliland have been ordered to keep off from the area.

The private ships were told to stop their operations two days ago, while planes had been prevented from landing at the Soviet-constructed military base and airport long before that. The airport reportedly has the longest runway in the African continent.

Reliable sources said operations at the two ports were halted to pave way for the expected American forces, which would be carrying out operations inside Somalia. Earlier, a German newspaper reported that American and German forces were to arrive in the town of Berbera.

Recently, Muhammad Haji Ibrahim Egal [Somaliland's president], toured the provinces and held talks with senior American officials in the town. During his seven-day tour, Mr Egal discussed the American forces with the area residents. The Ethiopian government is reportedly behind the success of this arrangement.

The American government had earlier disseminated reports which claimed that Somalia was harbouring terrorists.