In a significant development, the Government of Somaliland offers amnesty to Ga’an Libaah fighters who recently announced their rebellion against the Hargeisa government.
Hargeisa, Somaliland, SOMALIA. By Yahya:
The Ministry of Interior of the self-declared state of Somaliland officially announced this decision in a statement yesterday. It emphasised that Somaliland’s President Muse Bihi Abdi has endorsed the mediation committee’s recommendations. The committee provided advice regarding the upcoming elections and the armed Garhajis militia based in the Ga’an Libaah mountain range. The statement promises that authorities will grant an absolute pardon without any conditions to all members who disassociate from the rebellion.
Just last month, a tense confrontation between Somaliland police and the armed militia resulted in the loss of nine officers. Seventeen others sustained injuries. The government had accused the militia of posing a severe threat to national security. Somaliland’s police commander, Gen. Mohamed Aden Saqadhi Dabagale, said the rebel group ambushed Somaliland officers in Go’da Yar, a village approximately 120 km from Hargeisa, Somaliland’s capital. The rebels maintained that only one of its members was injured.
Ga’an Libaah’s response
The rebel group associated with the Garhajis subclan already responded to this amnesty offer. One of its prominent leaders, Abdi Shootali, vehemently refuted the claims mentioned in the ‘pardon press release’. He stated that there had been no discussions between the movement and Somaliland or any of its representatives regarding any issue related to the rebellion. “The movement will stay as it is, committed to its goals. No elder can change the position of the movement,” Abdi Shootali assured.
Mr Shootali also identified as ‘rumours’ the information circulating on social media. It claimed that Ga’an Libaah commanders were leaving the movement. In this regard, Abdi Shootali pointed at what he called “baseless Jeegaan propaganda,” referring to a political alliance primarily based around the Ogo plateau near Hargeisa.
