Mastodawn

Some damage will be hard to undo. That #Somaliland cannot renounce its claimed borders without harming the national project is highly probable, and yet the #war waged against Las Anod has left it weakened and amputated. It is therefore unlikely any comprehensive #peace agreement can be reached.

Barely more than a year after gaining power, he also obtained for #Somaliland the first formal recognition by any UN member: #Israel. Despite the dangers such a recognition brings, it further exemplifies the leverage thus regained in the international arena.

#Somalia #Somaliland #Africa

Instead, Irro's conciliatory policy style has allowed him to pacify Sanaag (claimed by SSC) and to explore realistic paths towards peace with the #Dhulbahante and re-engage #Puntland.

Muse Bihi's disastrous handling of the Las Anod crisis, rife with atrocities and likened to a #genocide by #Dhulbahante elders, has led to the routing of #Somaliland 's army and union of SSC-Khatumo with federal #Somalia under the name of "Northeast state".

#Africa

By contrast, #Somaliland 's current president Abdirahman Mohamed Abdullahi said "Irro" has buried the deal while maintaining cooperation with #Ethiopia, seeked to repair relations with #Djibouti, and crucially avoided a Las Anod-like crisis in Borama (#Awdal).

Most famously, his vague MoU signed with #Ethiopia on a future recognition has alienated the #Awdal region, strained relations with former ally #Djibouti, and mobilized #Somalia 's newfound diplomatic clout against the national cause. Meanwhile, and ironically, Ethiopia now prefers to look towards #Eritrea and Djibouti, even at the cost of a #war, to gain the sea access she seeks, rather than risk a formal recognition.

His term however has been stained by high-risk, high-stakes gambles he ultimately lost, democratic backsliding and a coercive leadership style that has cost dearly to #Somaliland as a state and a nation, as well as its international standing.

https://www.garoweonline.com/en/news/somalia/somaliland-proposes-peace-deal-and-prisoner-exchange-with-las-anod-based-administration

By choosing strength over force, #Somaliland is regaining leverage

From 2017 to 2024, under Muse Bihi Abdi's presidency, Somaliland obtained a near-recognition by a non-UN member, #Taiwan, in 2020. This has been a victory for Somaliland's secession project, itself motivated by the Isaaq #genocide in the late 1980's and its non-recognition by the Somali state.