In a sharply worded parliamentary resolution issued on April 12, 2025, the House of Representatives of the Republic of Somaliland has denounced the recent visit by Somalia’s Prime Minister to Las Anod, calling it “a blatant interference in and aggression against the sovereignty and statehood of the Republic of Somaliland”. The House fully backed the government’s position and urged immediate action to protect Somaliland’s territorial integrity.
Citing Article 1 and Article 2 of the Somaliland Constitution, the House reaffirmed that the Republic of Somaliland “encompasses the same area as the former British Protectorate of Somaliland” and declared its borders “sacred and inviolable”. The Prime Minister’s entry into Las Anod, which lies within the Sool region of Somaliland, is seen as a direct affront to this constitutional mandate and an escalation that threatens regional peace.
The resolution goes further, recommending a complete disengagement from any future negotiations with the Somali administration. “The House recommends that the Government of Somaliland completely withdraw from and refrain from participating in any future negotiations or dialogue with the administration of Somalia,” the resolution states unequivocally.
In light of this grave provocation, the House has also called on President Abdirahman Mohamed Abdullahi ‘Irro’ to urgently convene national institutions, political parties, and intellectuals to “jointly deliberate and find a unified solution” to both the Las Anod crisis and the implications of the Somali Prime Minister’s incursion.
The House reminded the international community—including the UN, EU, IGAD, and AU—that Somaliland voluntarily withdrew from contested areas in Sool in August 2023 as a gesture of goodwill and in the interest of regional peace. However, the resolution warned that Somaliland “possesses full capacity to secure its borders” and that “any consequences arising from the Prime Minister’s visit that undermine the peace and stability of the region are the sole responsibility of the administration in Mogadishu”.
This parliamentary move signals the strongest shift yet toward the formal severance of all remaining diplomatic threads between Somaliland and Somalia. The burden, the House asserts, now lies squarely on Mogadishu and its escalating provocations.
Tribal Motivations
The Somalia Prime Minister’s visit to Las Anod is not merely symbolic—it is tribally motivated, part of a broader project of tribal hegemony long championed by former President Mohamed Abdullahi Farmaajo and the powerful political caucus he leads. Operating from bases in Nairobi and Istanbul, this group has worked systematically to undermine Somaliland’s territorial integrity by weaponizing clan allegiances and exploiting local grievances. Central to their strategy is the promotion of Las Anod as a nascent Somalia federal state—an unconstitutional move, given that Somalia’s own charter provides no legal pathway for state creation without due process. Yet, this faction has funnelled illicit funds and arms into the region to prop up local insurgents, destabilize Sool, and keep the entire Somaliland Republic on edge. Behind this agenda stand powerful state allies: China, Turkey, and Qatar, whose growing influence in the Horn is inseparably linked to resource politics and military posturing. These actors, while seeking leverage in the region, have become enablers of a tribalist project that threatens to ignite a wider conflict in the already fragile Horn of Africa.
The Somalia Las Anod Gambit
Somalia Prime Minister’s arrival in Las Anod sparks outrage deepening an already volatile political crisis. His visit, widely seen as a calculated provocation, comes at a time when his own government in Mogadishu is barely holding the line against Al Shabaab, with extremist militants not only encircling the capital but also reclaiming vast swaths of land across Somalia’s federal member states. This reckless move risks igniting a broader regional conflict that could undo decades of hard-won stability in Somaliland and further plunge Somalia into chaos.
The visit is not occurring in a vacuum. It comes after repeated warnings by the government of Somaliland to both local actors and the international community about the perilous implications of politicizing the Las Anod crisis. Somaliland has pointed to foreign fingerprints—particularly from Turkey and China—both of whom have vested interests in securing future petroleum concessions in the Sool region. These outside powers are seen to be using Somalia’s fragile federal institutions to create a corridor of influence, undermining Somaliland’s sovereignty in the process.
Meanwhile, the West, which in 2023 pressured Somaliland to withdraw from Las Anod under the banner of de-escalation, has since abandoned its moral and strategic responsibility. After pushing for disengagement, Western actors failed to facilitate any meaningful dialogue between the Somaliland government and local insurgents. Worse still, they left a security vacuum in Sool, providing fertile ground for extremist infiltration and Somali federal opportunism. The vacuum they helped create is now being filled by the very instability they once claimed to oppose.
This move by Mogadishu’s leadership, cheered on quietly by geopolitical meddlers, is not only diplomatically provocative—it’s strategically suicidal. For Somalia to undermine the only stable territory in the Horn while its own government is unable to secure its capital, let alone the rest of its fractured state, signals a disturbing prioritization of optics over substance. Las Anod’s politicization may win fleeting applause in Villa Somalia, but it risks triggering a long-term destabilization with regional and international consequences.
The question now is not just what Somaliland will do next—but whether the world will continue its dangerous silence.
A Record of Par-excellence
For over three decades, the Republic of Somaliland has stood as a remarkable example of peacebuilding, self-governance, and democratic resilience in the Horn of Africa. Following its voluntary union with Somalia in 1960 and the subsequent collapse of that union amid brutal conflict and marginalization, Somaliland reasserted its sovereignty on 18 May 1991 through the Burao Conference—a decision rooted in the will of its people and grounded in historical and legal legitimacy. Since then, Somaliland has developed its own constitution, held multiple competitive elections, and built functioning institutions from the ground up without significant international assistance.
Despite lacking formal international recognition, Somaliland has earned widespread regional and global respect for its internal stability, democratic governance, and consistent commitment to rule of law. Its capital, Hargeisa, has become a hub of economic activity and civic life, in stark contrast to the violence and disorder that persist in southern Somalia. Somaliland has established its own currency, central bank, security forces, and independent judiciary—hallmarks of a functioning state. Its record on counterterrorism and maritime security has also garnered praise from international partners, including the EU and the United Kingdom, who have engaged with Somaliland as a reliable and constructive actor.
This record of peace and self-reliance stands in sharp contrast to the chaos in Mogadishu, where successive administrations have failed to maintain territorial control or establish coherent governance. While Somalia remains heavily dependent on foreign troops and donor funding, Somaliland has forged ahead with a bottom-up nation-building model that centers community consensus and accountability. The provocative visit by the Somalia Prime Minister to Las Anod therefore not only challenges Somaliland’s sovereignty but undermines one of the few genuine success stories in the region—a state that has, for 34 years, earned its place as a credible and peaceful nation.
