Somaliland Accuses Ethiopia of “Fuelling the Laascaanood Conflict”

[Deeq A.]

The Somaliland Council of Ministers accused Ethiopia of sending troops to Laascaanood.

Hargeisa (PP News Desk ) — The Somaliland Council of Ministers today accused the Ethiopian government of fuelling the conflict in Laascaanood, the administrative capital of Sool. “We urge the allied troops including forces of the Somali Region of Ethiopia to withdraw from Laascaanood” reads the communique released today by the Somaliland government The accusation from Somaliland to Ethiopia comes in the wake of mediation efforts pioneered by the Ethiopian government to bring the conflict to an end.

Last week, Ethiopian mediators met Sool, Sanaaag and Cayn leadership and Somaliland government representatives separately. The withdrawal of Somaliland troops to Oog was the sticking-point in the negotiations, a position that the break-away administration refused to agree to.

End of political bromance: Mustafe Omer, President of the Somali Region of Ethiopia (left) and President Muse Bihi (right) will have their partnership strained by the accusation levelled against the government of Ethiopia over the Laascaanood conflict.

“The Somali Region of Ethiopia has for a long time restrained itself in order not to respond to  successive accusations from Somaliland administration. It is clear that Somaliland is seeking political relief to point a finger at a non-existent enemy. We call for the Somaliland administration to refrain from statements that drive a wedge between the fraternal societies  of Somaliland and the Somali region of Ethiopia” reads a statement issued by the communications office of the Government of the Somali Region of Ethiopia.

Last week, the Somaliland Foreign Minister Essa Kayd claimed that Somaliland was “a buffer zone for Ethiopia”. The Somaliland government also claimed that it was fighting terrorists in Laascaanood.  Earlier this week, the government of Ethiopia sent troops to Somalia to be a part of what the Somali National Security Adviser Hussein Mo’allim described as “a counter-terrorism operation.”

© Puntland Post, 2023

The post Somaliland Accuses Ethiopia of “Fuelling the Laascaanood Conflict” appeared first on Puntland Post.