By HAN News Desk
HARGEISA — Traditional leaders in Somaliland’s Awdal region have suspended cooperation with the territory’s interior minister, rejecting his claim that a peace agreement had ended recent inter-clan fighting in Awdal and neighboring Salal.
In a statement issued late Monday, the Awdal Regional Tribal Cultural Committee said Interior Minister Abdalle Mohamed Arab’s Feb. 14 remarks declaring the conflict over were “misleading” and did not reflect conditions on the ground.
“The minister claimed the conflict had ended, but this is far from the truth,” the committee said, citing heavy clashes over the past two days that it said resulted in additional deaths and property damage.
Local accounts indicate that fighting between rival clans in parts of Awdal and Salal has left several people dead on both sides. Homes have been burned, families displaced and tensions heightened in western Somaliland near the borders with Djibouti and Ethiopia.
The committee denied accusations that its clans were fueling the violence and described the minister’s comments as baseless and harmful to community cohesion.
It also accused the minister of insulting traditional elders of the Gadabuursi clan by referring to them as warlords opposed to peace. The committee said elders have historically played a central role in mediating disputes and restoring stability in the region.
The group said it was temporarily suspending cooperation with the interior minister, alleging he had failed to maintain neutrality. It said elders would continue independent efforts to promote reconciliation and preserve social unity.
The committee called on the public and Somaliland authorities to work toward a durable settlement and prevent further escalation.
Arab previously said authorities had taken firm action against those responsible for the violence. He said about 30 suspects had been detained and transferred to Madera prison and that security forces had cleared armed clan fighters from contested areas.
The conflicting accounts underscore the fragile security situation in western Somaliland, where disputes over land, resources and local authority have periodically erupted into violence despite mediation efforts by elders and government officials.
