MOGADISHU (Somaliguardian) – The newly elected speaker of Somalia’s Northeastern State, Adan Abdullahi, announced this week that portions of territory claimed by the fledgling regional administration remain under the control of neighboring Somaliland and Puntland authorities. Abdullahi vowed to reclaim these disputed areas, setting the stage for renewed tensions in a region already fraught with decades-long territorial conflicts.
The Northeastern State, officially endorsed by Somalia’s federal government, is centered on the Sool and Sanaag regions – areas long contested by Somaliland and Puntland. Western Sool and parts of Sanaag, including the regional capital Erigavo, are controlled by Somaliland forces, while Puntland maintains authority over much of eastern Sanaag. Both neighboring administrations have firmly rejected the new state’s establishment and its territorial claims.
“We do not recognize the neighboring administrations’ control over these lands,” Abdullahi said in comments that risk inflaming an already volatile situation. “Our goal is to secure the full extent of our borders soon,” he added, though he did not specify the means by which this would be achieved.
The announcement comes amid reports that Somaliland and Puntland, despite their own longstanding hostilities, have engaged in discreet talks to coordinate a response to what they perceive as territorial encroachment by the Northeastern State. Last week, Somaliland President Abdirahman Mohamed Abdullahi Irro reaffirmed his government’s claim to the Sool region, declaring it an integral part of Somaliland’s historic borders – from Awdal region in the west to Sool and Sanaag in the east.
“We will secure our borders, no matter how long it takes or what it requires,” Irro said, emphasizing Somaliland’s commitment to maintaining the territorial boundaries established during the era of the British protectorate.
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