Press Release by the Committee of thirty-three of SSC-Khatumo of Somalia

The SSC-Khatumo of Somalia Committee of thirty-three wishes to respond to the Communique’ of 14th Ordinary Session of the IGAD Assembly of the Heads of State and Government held in Djibouti 0n 12th June 2023, which falls well short of the declarations made by the UN Security Council on 7th June on the conflict and crisis in Lasanod and Sool, as follows:

• Recalling that the fighting was started by the Somaliland militia forces based in Lascanod on 26th December 2022 after the youth of Lasanod demonstrated against the oppression and human rights violations subjected on them and demanded the unconditional withdrawal of Somaliland’s militia to their region’s territory.  
• Bearing in mind that the people of SSC, as the victims, are merely exercising their inalienable fundamental human rights to defend their land and freedoms under attack.
• Recalling Somaliland’s record of blatantly violating its own calls for ceasefires as well those called by the international community (which we abided by), and its cynical abuse of the pause to resupply their militia in Lasanod and launch indiscriminate shelling and bombardment of the city as documented and reported by Amnesty International in its statement issued on 20th April, 2023; and
• Bearing in mind the incalculable damage and suffering the Somaliland militia inflict in Lasanod, in terms of the hundreds killed, thousands maimed and injured, and 200,000 plus displaced; as well as the destruction of the town in terms of the economic and social infrastructure – a heinous crime continuing to the present despite all the appeals by the international community.

Based on the above considerations, we declare that the IGAD statement falls well short of the justice and clarity of the UNSC stand and leads to false moral equivalence of equating those guilty of human rights violations and the innocent people of Lasanod/Sool that are defending their existence and self-determination rights.

We hereby declare that the fighting will only end if the invading militias voluntarily withdraw from SSC-Khatumo territories, through the regional authorities’ and international pressure and commitment for just peace. In this regard, we believe the most appropriate way for finding a solution to the ongoing conflict is the immediate implementation of the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) recommendations embodied in its statement of 7th June, calling on the invading forces to immediately withdraw from SSC-Khatumo, for any productive talks to commence.

The SSC-Khatumo Committee of thirty-three would like to reiterate the readiness to follow the decisions of the UNSC and enter into talks with a view to establishing lasting peace and co-existence.

SSC-Khatumo of Somalia Committee