Wednesday April 23, 2025
Mogadishu (HOL) — The leader of the SSC-Khatumo interim administration, Abdiqadir Aw Ali Firdhiye, has reaffirmed his commitment to unifying the residents of the Sool and Sanaag regions under one administration.
“We plan to bring the people of Sool and Sanaag together, unite them, and establish an administration where they are all united,” Firdhiye said on Tuesday.
He accused Somaliland of stoking insecurity in parts of Sanaag, particularly in the town of Erigavo, and displacing residents who feared for their safety.
“Our people have been displaced from their homes. I think Somalia and the world have seen the displacement, looting, and suffering that has been inflicted on them. Their homes are still being taken from them. They are returning, but their administration is holding them back,” he said.
Firdhiye has repeatedly called for preparations to fully reclaim both Sool and Sanaag from Somaliland, as his administration pushes to consolidate its control over the contested regions. The SSC-Khatumo movement, which emerged from clan-based opposition to Somaliland’s governance, has gained momentum in recent months, especially following the withdrawal of Somaliland forces from Las Anod in 2023.
In response, Somaliland authorities have vowed to defend what they describe as the borders inherited from the British colonial administration. President Abdirahman Mohamed Abdillahi Cirro has stated that Somaliland will not cede any territory it considers part of its sovereign land.
The international community has called for restraint and dialogue, but no lasting political resolution has yet been reached.
