In an effort to ease mounting tensions in the contested Sool region, Somaliland President Abdirahman Mohamed Abdullahi Irro on Monday reiterated that the area remains an integral part of Somaliland.
Speaking in the port city of Berbera, he urged residents of Lasanod and its surrounding areas to strengthen their ties with Hargeisa rather than Mogadishu.
Somaliland President to Lasanod Residents: “You Share Everything with Hargeisa.”
“Eastern Sool residents are Somalilanders,” President Irro declared.
“To the people of Lasanod and those living there: Hargeisa is closer to you than Mogadishu.
You share everything with Hargeisa.”
The remarks come shortly after clan leaders from the Dhulbahante and Warsangeli communities announced the creation of a new autonomous entity—the Northeastern State of Somalia—covering parts of eastern Sool and Sanaag.
The initiative, supported by Somalia’s federal government in Mogadishu, has drawn strong reactions from both Somaliland and Puntland, each of which claims sovereignty over the disputed regions.
Formation of the Northeastern State
Somaliland President Irro reaffirmed Somaliland’s commitment to dialogue and peace but emphasized that his government would safeguard the territorial integrity of the self-declared republic.
“God willing, at the right time, Somaliland will protect its peace and its entire border,” he said.
The formation of the Northeastern State has escalated a decades-long territorial dispute over the resource-rich and strategically significant Sool and Sanaag regions.
Analysts caution that the move could fuel further instability, as clashes between Somaliland forces and local militias have persisted for years.
Both Somaliland and Puntland have lodged official protests against the establishment of the new state, viewing it as a provocative step that threatens fragile stability in northern Somalia.
