Honouring the 1995 Ceerigaabo Peace Agreement in Northern Somalia

[Deeq A.]

Garaad Abdullahi Garaad Saleebaan explained the rationale for maintaining peace in Ceerigaabo.

Mogadishu (PP Editorial) —The peace declaration from the traditional leaders of Sool, Sanaag, Cayn and Khaatumo (SSCK) Interim Administration (SSCK) on the situation in Ceerigaabo district is a timely example about the role traditional leaders can play in preventing politicians from seeking a political capital from tense political situations. SSCK traditional leaders have applied the principles of peaceful coexistence contained in the Laascaanood Declaration of 6/2/2023, the day Somaliland forces, under the order of Muse Bihi Abdi, the President of Somaliland Administration, began to mercilessly shell the city of Laascaanood.

Garaad Abdullahi Garad Saleebaan, who briefly commented on the peace declaration on Ceerigaabo, explained the rationale for maintaining peace in Ceerigaabo. “Even when Somaliland forces were shelling Laascaanood, we have never called for a conflict in Ceerigaabo,” said Garaad Abdullahi in Laascaanood several days ago.

His comments root the peace declaration in the 1995 Ceerigaabo Peace Agreement that made the administrative capital of Sanaag a model for multi-clan peaceful coexistence in Northern Somalia, similar in peace-making significance to the landmark Gaalkacyo Agreement of 1993.

 After the fall of Goojacadde foxholes on the outskirts of Laascaanood on 25 August 2023, the traditional leaders of SSCK resolved to order  SSCK forces not to advance to areas inhabited by clans and sub-clans believed to be loyal to the Somaliland Administration. The intervention of SSCK traditional leaders prevented more bloodshed in Northern Somalia.

The decision by SSCK traditional leaders to consolidate peace in Ceerigaabo is commendable and deserves recognition for peace-making in a region affected by a six-month-long conflict. The interim administration of Sool, Sanaag, Cayn, and Khaatumo in Laascaanood has shown commitment to upholding peace and giving a political space to traditional leaders whose peace-making role is bearing fruit in Sool, Sanaag and Togdheer.

A Somali folk tale in the book Folk Tales from Somalia, translated by Ahmed Artan Hanghe, contains a riddle formulated by Kabacalaf, a sage: “What is a man’s bedspread?” (Waa maxay gogol rag?). The answer is: peace (nabad).

© Puntland Post, 2024

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