MOGADISHU (SD) -The United States government has strongly denied a recent statement by Puntland’s Minister of Information, Mahamoud Aidid Dirir, who claimed that the U.S. Embassy in Mogadishu had evacuated its key staff members.

A brief statement issued by the U.S. Embassy in Mogadishu dismissed the report attributed to Puntland’s Minister of Information as false, emphasizing that the embassy’s operations are continuing as usual.

“The recent reports claiming that the U.S. Embassy in Mogadishu has begun evacuating its key staff are completely false,” stated the release from the U.S. Embassy in Mogadishu today.

Puntland’s Minister of Information, Mahamoud Aidid Dirir, had claimed a few days ago that the U.S. government had withdrawn its diplomats and key staff from Mogadishu for security reasons, accusing the Somali government of failing in the fight against Al-Shabaab at the time.