Pressure Mounts on Puntland President to Back the Sovereignty of Somalia

[Deeq A.]

From left: Boqor Burhan, Suldaan Garaase, Ali Haji Warsame, Hassan Shire Abgal, and Abdiqani Hange, all of whom have publicly expressed support for the sovereignty and political unity of Somalia.

Garowe & Mogadishu (PP News Desk)— Pressure is mounting on the President of Puntland State of Somalia, Said Abdullahi Deni, to issue a public statement affirming support for the sovereignty of the Federal Republic of Somalia. Earlier this week, Boqor Burhan, the most senior traditional leader of the Darod clan, backed the position of the Somali Federal Government in condemning Israel’s violation of Somalia’s sovereignty, following claims by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that Israel had recognised the Somaliland administration as an independent republic.

On Tuesday, Ali Haji Warsame, a politician and former Puntland Minister of Education, urged the Puntland State Government to formally denounce Netanyahu’s remarks, describing them as an attack on Somalia’s sovereignty. Netanyahu is the subject of an arrest warrant issued by the International Court of Justice in relation to alleged war crimes in Gaza.

Abdiqani Hange, the Federal Deputy Minister of Finance, also criticised President Deni for his continued silence on what he described as Israel’s unlawful recognition of the secessionist Somali region. “Perhaps he [Deni] has a hidden agenda,” Hange told reporters in Mogadishu. “All prominent figures in Puntland have spoken out against this attack on our sovereignty” Hanghe said. 

Meanwhile, Hassan Shire Abgal, a former Puntland Minister of Finance, called on President Deni to follow the example set by Boqor Burhan, Suldaan Garaarse, the Puntland Council of Religious Leaders and the Puntland Non-State Actors Association to  express unequivocal support for the sovereignty of the Federal Republic of Somalia, a position fully endorsed by the United Nations Security Council during its emergency meeting on Somalia’s political and territorial unity two days ago. “Both the Puntland Charter and Puntland Constitution explicitly affirm the sovereignty of the Federal Republic of Somalia” said Hassan Shire Abgal.

© Puntland Post, 2025