HARGEISA, (HAN) – Authorities in Somaliland on Wednesday released Colonel Hassan Iraqi, a Somali National Army officer who had been detained near the border town of Wajaale, officials and local sources told Horn Africa News.
Colonel Iraqi was apprehended earlier this week in Wajaale, a busy crossing point between Somaliland and Ethiopia, under circumstances that remain unclear. He was later handed back in the same area following his release, the sources said.
Officials in Hargeisa gave no immediate explanation for the colonel’s detention or the conditions of his release. The federal government in Mogadishu has also remained silent on the matter.
The incident comes amid heightened tensions between Somaliland and Somalia’s federal authorities, who remain locked in disputes over sovereignty, territorial control, and the terms of future talks.
Analysts say the colonel’s brief detention may highlight both the sensitivities surrounding military movements in contested border areas and Somaliland’s interest in avoiding further escalation.
Residents of Wajaale told the media that the officer appeared to be in good health when he was returned.
Somaliland, which declared independence from Somalia in 1991 but remains unrecognized internationally, runs its own security forces and political institutions. Its relations with Mogadishu have often been marked by sharp disputes, despite intermittent mediation efforts led by regional powers.
