Hargeisa (WDN) – Somaliland has strongly condemned Somali Prime Minister Hamza Abdi Barre’s visit to Las Anod on Sunday, describing the trip as a deliberate political provocation and calling on the international community to pressure the Federal Government of Somalia to halt what it termed “escalatory actions.”
Prime Minister Hamza arrived in Las Anod onAugust 2, 2026 at the head of a high-level delegation dominated by cabinet ministers to attend celebrations marking the first anniversary of the self-declared North Eastern State (NES) administration. The visit, his third to the city, has been widely viewed as a significant political statement by Mogadishu, reinforcing its support for the administration that now controls Las Anod following Somaliland’s withdrawal from the city in 2023.
In a sharply worded statement, Somaliland accused the Federal Government of attempting to inflame tensions in the disputed Sool region and warned that the visit could further destabilize an already fragile security environment.
“Somaliland strongly condemns the provocative visit by the Prime Minister of the Federal Government of Somalia to parts of the eastern Sool region,” the statement said. The administration argued that the trip was not a routine official visit but a politically charged move designed to challenge Somaliland’s longstanding claim over the territory.
Somaliland further urged international partners—including governments, regional organizations, and diplomatic missions—to intervene and press Mogadishu to refrain from what it described as actions that risk increasing instability in the Horn of Africa.
According to the statement, the visit constitutes “a violation of the sovereignty, territorial integrity, and existence of the Republic of Somaliland” and represents “an act that fuels conflict while undermining regional peace and security.”
Officials in Hargeisa warned that the visit could deepen political divisions and create new flashpoints in one of the Horn of Africa’s most sensitive territorial disputes.
A Deepening Political Divide
The reaction underscores the widening gulf between Somaliland and Somalia’s Federal Government over the future of Las Anod and the wider Northeast region (Sool and Sanaag).
Since local clan forces expelled Somaliland’s military from Las Anod in early 2023, the city has remained under the control of local authorities aligned with the newly established North Eastern State administration, which has openly pledged allegiance to the Federal Republic of Somalia.
Mogadishu has steadily strengthened its political engagement with the administration through repeated high-level visits, public endorsements, and official recognition.
For Somaliland, however, each visit by senior Somali officials is viewed as an attempt to consolidate federal authority in territory that Hargeisa continues to regard as part of Somaliland.
Prime Minister Hamza’s latest trip therefore represents more than a ceremonial visit. It highlights the increasingly competing claims of sovereignty and political legitimacy between Mogadishu and Hargeisa, while further illustrating how Las Anod has become one of the most strategically and politically contested cities in the Horn of Africa.
Somalia’s Federal Government had not publicly responded to Somaliland’s statement thus far or its appeal to the international community.
With both sides maintaining firmly opposing positions, the dispute over Las Anod continues to evolve beyond a territorial disagreement into a broader contest over political authority, statehood, and the future constitutional map of Somalia.
WardheerNews