Wednesday July 12, 2023
Nairobi (HOL) - The traditional clan chief of the Dhulbahante and leader of the 33-member SSC traditional council, Garad Jama Garad Ali, accused the Somali government on Tuesday of covertly backing Somaliland in its military campaign against the SSC militia in the city of Las Anod.
In a public meeting held in Nairobi, he openly challenged the federal administration led by President Hassan Sheikh and Prime Minister Hamza Abdi Barre for their alleged support in the Las Aonod bombardment.
Garad Jama, the Supreme Garaad of SSC-Khatuma, claimed that the Somali government is preventing global efforts to impose sanctions on Somaliland. "They (Federal Government of Somalia) are endorsing Somaliland's raids on Las Anod and hindering international pressure to address the Las Anood issue," he stated.
"We are openly telling the Somali people that the federal government is working behind the scenes against us and supporting the balkanization of Somalia.
The elder went further to suggest that the Somali government's approach is obstructing peace efforts and contributing to the oppression of the Somali people. "The Somali Parliament should table a motion about this issue. The existing government is a part of this oppression," he added.
Additionally, Garad Jama accused the president of trying to cover up Somaliland's war crimes in the Sool region. "They are secretly working to conceal the atrocities committed by Somaliland," he alleged.
He concluded his address by asserting that the Somali government has no viable solution to the ongoing conflict. "The international community would have intervened and condemned the massacre of the people of Las Anod if not for the obstruction by the Somali government," he declared.
The traditional elder accusation comes just days after Somaliland's Interior Minister, Mohamed Kahin Ahmed, said that the Puntland administration is responsible for the conflict in Las Anod. However, the Somali government has not been involved in the dispute in Las Anod town.
According to Ahmed, neither Somaliland, the people of Las Anod, nor the Somali government bear responsibility for the conflict. Instead, he alleges that the Puntland administration is actively fueling the tensions. This marks the first time the Somaliland government openly states that the federal government is not involved in the dispute over the disputed Las Anod town.