Traditional elders urge Somaliland militias to withdraw

[General Duke]

Traditional elders urge Somaliland militias to withdraw

- Monday, January 26, 2004 at 22:10

 

Las Anod (AllPuntland) - Traditional elders (Issims) of the regions of Sool, Sanag & Ayn issued a press release earlier today urging the administration in northwest Somalia (self-declared republic of Somaliland) to withdraw its militias from the regions.

 

 

 

Our local reporter in Las Anod where the Issims issued the press release was able to receive a copy of the communication addressed to the UN, IGAD Heads of State & Government, the Arab League, the AU, and to the Somali community at large. Distributed locally, traditional elders stated that militias of **** and ********** of the *** Somali clan have unlawfully and without their consent infiltrated inside territories inhabited by the ***** clan of ****** , one of the four major tribes in Somalia.

 

 

 

Written in firm language, traditional elders affirmed their position towards the conflict in that they clearly stated that Sool, Sanag & Ayn are Somali territories, and that invading militias penetrated inside their borders by 100km, and will no longer be tolerated. “Responsible for all subsequent instabilities in the region, and/or that of potential war will be the administration in Hargeisa”, they added.

 

 

 

This coincided with another call from one of the mostly revered and eldest traditional elders (Issims) in Puntland, Islam Mohamed Islam Muse who urged traditional elders (Gurti) and the administration is self-declared republic of Somaliland (northwest Somalia) to seek alternative means other than war to resolve the conflict over the Sool, Sanag & Ayn regions.

 

 

 

Islam Mohamed called upon his counterparts in Somaliland to resolve the conflict through nonviolent means.

 

 

 

While attending an extraordinary meeting convened by the “Emergency Committee” of Puntland State, Islam Mohamed spoke of the importance of finding a resolution to the issue at the heart of the conflict between Puntland and Somaliland. He warned both administrations against the use of violence urging leaders to engage, to observe good neighbourliness, and to refrain from actions that could necessitate the growth of hostilities and instability in the region.

 

 

 

Additionally, Islam Mohamed mentioned that traditional elders in Puntland on their part are ready to seek peaceful resolution to the conflict, and expect the same from those in Northwest Somalia.

 

 

 

AllPuntland News Desk