Wrap Up of Key Events in Somalia in 2nd week of January 2023

Unrest in Las Anod

In Las Anod, breakaway Somaliland has adopted a conciliatory stance following weeks of unrest in the city claimed both by Somaliland and Puntland. In a statement on Saturday, Somaliland information minister Suleiman Yusuf Ali Kore said President Muse Bihi wishes to send condolences to those who lost their lives in the ongoing unrest in Somaliland and promised to prevent renewed clashes between security forces and people of Las Anod. 

He also said his government will release all those accused of leading the protests while revealing talks with local leaders to find long lasting solutions to recurring tensions in the city. Kore also expressed government commitment to address concerns through negotiations, pledge to resume public service delivery, and called on residents in Sool region to promote peace. He warned neighboring countries against interfering in Somaliland affairs, in what could be aimed at Somalia, which regards Somaliland as one of its six federal member states.

Puntland-FGS rift

Last week, Puntland issued a statement saying it will operate as an independent government until the Constitution is completed and a referendum held. In late December, Puntland refrained from signing two points in the five-point communique issued following the three-day National Consultative Council (NCC); one on the delineation of powers at the federal and regional levels, and another on the federalisation of the country’s judicial system. On Wednesday, President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud responded saying that Somalia is a “single state”, and that the central government is fully responsible for the affairs of all citizens in the country.

Gedo status

President Mohamud has held talks with senior politicians from Gedo region (Senator Abdullahi Ismail Fartaag, Gedo Mayor Ahmed Bulle Gared, and Jubbaland’s deputy interior minister Abdirahman Mohamed Hassan) as tensions continue to simmer there over the status of the region. Gedo has been a key point of confrontation between former President Mohamed Abdullah Farmajo and Jubbaland leader Ahmed Madobe as the former was keen to secure votes in the region to guarantee his re-election prompting him to deploy elite soldiers to the region, replacing local leaders loyal to Madobe which resulting to several skirmishes. 

South West state reconciliation

In South West state, the opposition want immediate election but might be willing to allow Laftagareen to extend his term by one year as long as he allows for transparent elections. The FGS endorses the reconciliation conference which is expected on Tuesday after Somalia’s Parliament Speaker Adan Mohamed Madobe made changes to the technical committee that was to facilitate the conference after it was rejected by the opposition over the individuals’ impartiality and lack of consultation. President Mohamud has arrived in Baidoa to attend the meeting. 

Meanwhile, Security forces in South West state have handed over the security of Baidoa city to African Union Transition Mission in Somalia (ATMIS) as part of the demands of the opposition who have united under the Union for Presidential Candidates (UPC).

Offensive against Al-Shabaab

The Somali government forces, with the support of Galmudug Darwish forces and allied clan militias, the Macawiisley, are widening the offensive against Al-Shabaab terrorists in Galmudug state, which is phase 2 of the “all-out war” the government has started since August last year. 

Over the weekend, the Somali army and allied forces liberated El Hur village in Mudug region and Gal’ad town in Galgadud region, the two regions that make up Galmudug state. The forces also captured the natural harbor of Cigo, near El Dheer town, in Galgadud. On Monday, the forces took control of Harardhere, one of the four major towns in Galmudug state, the others being: El Dheer, El Buur, and Gal Hareri. Last week, the government claimed that it rejected Al-Shabaab’s offer for negotiation, which the group has denied. It is the first time the government has made such a claim. 

Meanwhile, Al-Shabaab has carried out a series of attacks mainly in form of suicide bombings in recent weeks in Hirshabelle state, the scene of the phase 1 of the government’s offensive against Al-Shabaab which saw the liberation of Hirshabelle state. Scores have been killed in twin car bombings in Mahas town, in Hiran region early January. On Sunday, Al-Shabaab killed at least 30 people in suicide bombings in the towns of Buloburde and Jalaqsi in Hiiraan region. On Monday, the terrorist group detonated an explosive-laden care in Halgan town which killed at least three people including Beledweyne’s head of the Criminal Investigation Department Jamal Ahmed Jama and other local officials.