The British Foreign Policy and the Civil War in Northern Somalia

[Deeq A.]

SSK-Khatumo leader Abdulkadir Aw Ali accused the British government of promoting secession agenda in Northern Somalia.

Mogadishu (PP Editorial) — The accusation by SSC-Khatumo leader Abdulkadir Aw Ali that the British Government “is biased towards the secessionist administration of Hargeisa” partly results from the undiplomatic language of the British Ambassador to Somalia, Mr Michael Nithavrianakis, who on a recent visit to Hargeisa tweeted that he had “wide-ranging discussion with Muse Bihi on elections, Las Anod and UK-Somaliland interests”, and partly from the ambiguity on who to engage with to resolve to conflict — Puntland State of Somalia , which represents SSC-Khaatumo constituency, the SSC-Khatumo interim administration or the Federal Government of Somalia.

When the Ambassador refers to his meeting with the Somaliland leader as bilateral discussions between to sovereign countries, unionists have a reason to accuse Britain of undermining the territorial and political unity of Somalia to promote secession agenda. Britain has played a major role in state-building initiatives in Somalia, yet its response to the conflict in Northern Somalia contradicts British government’s statements on assistance to political institutions of the Federal Republic of Somalia. In his first speech, the Somalia Envoy of Somaliland Office Abdikarim Guled said that talks with Somaliland government would take place within the framework of Somalia , not between Somalia and Somaliland. This policy unambiguously emphasises political unity of the Federal Republic of Somalia.

A diplomatically divisive tweet

SSC-Khatumo leaders ought to figure out how to align the aspirations of their constituency with the proper, conflict resolution strategies to end the conflict and exchange prisoners of war. Recently, President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud said that talks were underway to facilitate the release of the prisoners of the war. Neither SSC-Khatumo leadership, nor Somaliland administration substantiated President Mohamud’s claim.

The Somaliland administration forces were shelling Las Anod for six months. President Muse Bihi rejected UN Security Council calls to withdraw his troops, nor did the Federal Government of Somalia vehemently refute the sovereignty claim that Hargeisa used to kill, maim and displace people of Las Anod under the pretext that it is a sovereign country. When the British Ambassador to Somalia invokes “interests” between Somaliland and UK, he resorts to a divisive diplomacy in a country recovering from state collapse.

© Puntland Post, 2023

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