Somaliland President Abdirahman Irro has launched a new initiative to rebuild inter-clan cohesion in Sanaag and strengthen cooperation with Puntland.
Irro was in Ceerigaabo this week where he launched a reconciliation and peace outreach to the Warsangeli clan in Sanaag.
The Warsangeli are crucial to the success/failure of NES.
So far, most of the clan have refused to join the Dhulbahante in Laas Aanood and prefer, instead, to ally with Puntland.
The clan prefers the status quo, is wary of the destabilising impact of creating a new regional state in heavily-contested borderlands, and welcomes the new-found cooperation between Somaliland and Puntland.
All politics is local
The Warsangeli are pragmatic and recognise that by dint of geography and political economy their interests are more broadly aligned with Somaliland and Puntland than with a distant Mogadishu.
The Warsangeli also calculate – quite rightly – that Mogadishu interest in Laas Aanood is short-term, primarily driven by electoral politics and desire to undermine both Somaliland and Puntland.
With 6 months before a hotly-contested national poll in Mogadishu in May 2026, another likely political transition/change of priorities, the prospects for NES don’t look good.
Rashid Abdi
