By Yahya:
Las Anod, Sool, Somalia –
Abdiqadir Ahmed Aw-Ali, also known as Firdhiye, was elected the President of the SSC-Khatumo Administrative Council on Saturday. Mr Firdhiye secured an impressive 30 out of the 45 total votes. The 45-member committee also elected Mohamed Abdi Ismail (Shiine) as deputy. The voting represents a final formal step towards asserting independence from the Somaliland administration.
The SSC-Khatumo leadership emphasized their vision of becoming Somalia’s new federal member state (FMS), taking a resolute stand against Somaliland’s breakaway aspirations. If succeeding, Khatumo would be the 6th regional state under the Federal Government of Somalia (FGS).
The new leadership, elected by the recently assembled 45-member committee, will head the political and administrative councils for the next two years. Their main task remains liberating the region from what Mr Firdhiye called the Las Anod invasion by Somaliland. They will manage the entire administration of Sool, Sanaag, and Ayn (collectively known as SSC), a responsibility that local traditional elders previously held.
Garad Mukhtar Garad Ali Burale, one of the traditional leaders in the Sool region, was among the first to congratulate the new leadership. “Alhamdulillah, all praise to Allah and those who helped us on this journey. Congratulations to Abdiqadir Ahmed Aw-Ali who has been elected as the leader for the SSC-Khatumo. We wish and pray for his leadership to continue our struggle and take us to the next phase of the journey, IA [insha’Allah].”
The conflict for Las Anod
Las Anod had been under Somaliland’s control since 2007 until last February. The conflict in the city intensified following the assassination of a Dhulbahante politician in December 2022, sparking widespread protests. Armed fighting erupted on 6 February between forces of the self-declared state of Somaliland and local militia affiliated with the Dhulbahante clan.
The Dhulbahante clan, which is part of the larger Darod clan, resides in the areas of Sool, Sanaag and Ayn (also known as Buuhoodle). It historically disputed between Somaliland and Puntland and did not want to contribute to dividing the Somali state. The Dhulbahante people claim Las Anod as their capital.
According to the Protection and Return Monitoring Network, the conflict and insecurity already displaced at least 200,000 people from the Las Anod region.
