The outgoing Somaliland President “Fuels Targeted Attacks in Ceerigaabo”

[Deeq A.]

Sparking inter-clan conflict has been a strategy the outgoing President of Somaliland Administration Muse Bihi Abdi attempted to use to delay presidential elections. He has not expressed commitment to the 1995 Ceerigaabo Agreement.

Ceerigaabo (PP Report) — For the past two weeks, Ceerigaabo, the administrative capital of Sanaag, has experienced targeted attacks and looting against a segment of its population. The district had until recently been spared the conflict in Sool and parts of Togdheer, but since the defeat of the incumbent Somaliland President Muse Bihi Abdi in 2024 presidential elections, naked hostility and blatant violence against Harti populations have become commonplace in the administrative capital district of Sanaag.

Sparking inter-clan conflict has been a strategy Bihi attempted to use to delay presidential elections, starting with the establishment of Sool, Sanaag and Buuhoodle (SSB) militias in Qorilugud in October 2023.

Last week, in the presence of authorities, looters associated with Bibi’s government targeted Harti-owned businesses and killed several people in Ceerigaabo. West Burco Clan traditional leaders in Hargeisa disassociated themselves from acts of violence and looting committed by “our people.” This sentiment helped calm the situation but also highlighted a breakdown of political order in Ceerigaabo.

The outgoing Somaliland administration led by Bihi Abdi has neither vowed to protect civilians nor demonstrated any commitment to the 1995 Ceerigaabo Agreement, which was facilitated by the late Somaliland President Mohamed Ibrahim Egal to foster peaceful co-existence and respect for property rights.

Elders from Laascaanood deferred to Ceerigaabo authorities, who, as one elder stated last week, “have the responsibility to protect the rights of citizens who are victims of looting and organised political violence.” The Sool, Sanaag, Cayn and Khaatumo (SSCK) administration called on the international community to urge Somaliland authorities in Ceerigaabo to curb organised political violence against people represented by the SSCK interim administration.

The SSCK administration is preparing a dossier on the violence and looting in Ceerigaabo to assess the impact of displacement, loss of life and economic harm caused by the politically motivated targeted attacks.

© Puntland Post, 2024

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