Border dispute between Somaliland and Puntland

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Map of Northern Somalia with clans, administrative regions and territorial claims

The border dispute between Somaliland and Puntland is the dispute over the administrative regions Sool and Sanaag as well as the easternmost part of the Togdheer region , which is also known as Ayn (Cayn) .

These areas, also known as “SSC regions”, are claimed by Somaliland , which has been de facto independent from Somalia since 1991 , and Puntland , which has been a de facto autonomous state within Somalia since 1998. Somaliland bases its claim on the borderline of the Protectorate British Somaliland , Puntland on the clan membership of the inhabitants. The conflict has intensified since 2002 and there were also military confrontations on several occasions. Legally, the disputed area still belongs to Somalia, as neither Somaliland nor Puntland have been internationally recognized.

The loyalty of the population in the disputed area is divided between Somaliland and Puntland. Part of the population rejects both Puntland and Somaliland and prefers regional independence within a reunited whole of Somalia. In 2007, the state of Maakhir was proclaimed in Sanaag , followed by the proclamation of the Northland State in 2008 and Khaatumo in 2012 .

Background and history

The area affected by the border dispute is predominantly rural and sparsely populated. The majority of the inhabitants, who live from nomadic cattle breeding, belong to the Somali clan of the Harti- Darod , more precisely to its subclans, the Dolbohanta and Warsangeli. The Harti-Darod group also includes the Majerteen in the east bordering areas that formed Puntland in 1998 :

  • Darod
    • Harti
      • Warsangeli
      • Dolbohanta
      • Majerteen
    • other clans.

The northern part of Somalia, including the Warsangeli and Dolbohanta areas, was colonized by Great Britain at the end of the 19th century as British Somaliland , while the south and east, including the Majerteen areas, were colonized by Italy as Italian Somaliland . Within British Somaliland, Warsangeli and Dolbohanta formed a minority compared to the Isaaq as a large majority in the middle of the country and the Dir in the west. In 1960 British and Italian Somaliland became independent and united to form Somalia .

In 1969, Siad Barre took power in Somalia through a military coup and established an authoritarian government. This was based primarily on the so-called “MOD Alliance” from his own clan, the Marehan-Darod, from his mother's Ogadeni-Darod clan and the Dolbohanta-Harti-Darod. Other clans, including the Isaaq, felt marginalized and oppressed under his government. From 1981 the Isaaq-dominated SNM led an armed struggle against the government in northern Somalia. The Dolbohanta, as allies of the Barre government, partly participated in the fight against the SNM and committed human rights violations against the Isaaq population in 1988. This strains the relationship between Isaaq and Dolbohanta to this day. The relationships between Isaaq and Harti-Darod are complex as they are regulated at a lower level by subclans. Some Dolbohanta subclans have closer ties to the Isaaq than to the Majerteen.

The fact that oil reserves are suspected in the area increases the potential for conflict.

After Somaliland's declaration of independence

After the fall of Barres and the subsequent escalation of the Somali civil war in southern Somalia, the SNM initiated a process of reconciliation between the various clans in northern Somalia. At a meeting of clan elders led by the SNM in Burao in 1991, Somaliland 's independence was declared on the territory of the former British Somaliland. Representatives of the Warsangeli and Dolbohanta were also present at this meeting and, like large parts of the population, supported the declaration of independence.

This changed because the Warsangeli and Dolbohanta within Somaliland felt increasingly marginalized compared to the Isaaq and Dir . In particular, they felt ignored when in 1997, contrary to their expectations, it was not someone from their ranks, but Dahir Riyale Kahin who received the office of Vice President of Somaliland again. A little later, President Egal also rejected a list of candidates proposed by a Dolbohanta leader as representative of his clan for parliament and government.

When in 1998, under the leadership of the Majerteen Puntland, the Harti-Darod was proclaimed an autonomous state within Somalia, part of the Harti in the border area of ​​Somaliland therefore supported Puntland. Economically, too, these Harti were increasingly oriented towards the nearby, prosperous port town of Boosaaso in Puntland's area and less towards Hargeysa and Berbera further west in Somaliland. With the formation of the Transitional National Government as the internationally recognized transitional government of Somalia in 2000, part of the population of the area also turned to this new government. With Ali Khalif Galaydh a Dolbohanta from Sool, who had been representing his clan in the Declaration of Independence of Somaliland here, first prime minister of the transitional government. Both Puntland and Somaliland perceived this step as a provocation.

In 2001 a constitutional referendum was held in Somaliland , in which, according to official figures, 1.18 million more than two thirds of the voters took part, and 97.9% of these voted for the Somaliland constitution . Quite a number of observers doubted whether the turnout and percentage of votes in favor were really that high, but generally assumed that the majority of the population actually supported the constitution and thus indirectly also independence. The participation in the Las Anod district in the disputed Sool area was significantly lower at 31%. Observers suggested that those who did not vote were thus expressing their opposition to Somaliland and / or President Egal.

Conflict from 2002

The conflict between Somaliland and Puntland came to a head in 2002 when local elections were being prepared in Somaliland . Puntland refused to hold these elections in the areas he also claimed. When Somaliland's President Dahir Riyale Kahin visited the city of Las Anod in Sool ten days before the election date , he was attacked by forces loyal to Puntland, whereupon elections in four districts of Sool and Sanaag were "postponed" for security reasons. As a result, there are no administrative structures loyal to Somaliland in these areas.

After these events, Puntland expanded its control to Sool and up to Dolbohanta areas around Buhoodle in Togdheer , which were claimed as the new Ayn region (Somali alternative spelling : Cayn ). Observers suspected that Puntland's President Abdullahi Yusuf Ahmed wanted to improve his chances of becoming the new president of the transitional government after further pan-Somali peace negotiations. He achieved this goal in 2004.

Meanwhile, in Somaliland, President Riyale was criticized for not taking strong enough action against the "provocation" of Puntland, in the opinion of some. At the end of 2003 there were clashes between Somaliland and Puntland. After Abdullahi Yusuf Ahmed was elected President of Somalia in October 2004, heavy fighting broke out in the area around Las Anod, in which over 100 people were killed. In April 2007 there was a conflict in Sanaag.

On October 15, 2007, the Somaliland armed forces recaptured Las Anod after heavy fighting. An estimated 20,000 residents were driven partly to Somaliland and partly to Puntland by the fighting. The background was the change of the Dolbohanta politician Ahmed Abdi Habsade from the side of Puntland to that of Somaliland. During the subsequent visit by Somaliland ministers there were protests by parts of the population. The local radio station, Radio Las Anod , has been closed because no local radio stations are allowed in Somaliland other than the state radio Hargeysa .

At the end of 2007, the President of Somaliland confirmed that he wanted to take the entire claimed area.

In July 2008, Somaliland troops penetrated the coastal town of Laasqorey in Sanaag, ostensibly to free kidnapped Germans who were allegedly being held there by pirates . Puntland had previously withdrawn its troops from Laasqorey at the request of clan elders who wanted to negotiate in a neutral context. The Somaliland troops later withdrew. The conflict between Somaliland and Puntland is essentially about the future of the Somali state. While Somaliland insists on statehood and thus the end of Somalia within the borders of 1990, Puntland tries to restore a unified but federal Somalia.

Maakhir and Northland State

The population of the disputed regions partly supports Puntland and partly Somaliland. Here and in Awdal there is an organization called Awdal Sool and Sanaag Coalition Against Secession ASSCAS, which rejects Somaliland's declaration of independence. In the disputed border regions there is another organization, the Northern Somali Unionist Movement (NSUM), which Somaliland also rejects.

Part of the affected population rejects both Puntland and Somaliland, since both entities viewed the area primarily as a military front and invested little in its development. Instead, they prefer regional self-government within the framework of a (future) reunified Somalia. On July 1, 2007, Warsangeli-Darod proclaimed their own Maakhir state in Sanaag, citing their historical sultanate, and declared themselves independent from both Puntland and Somaliland as an autonomous state within Somalia. In 2008, Dolbohanta similarly declared the creation of Northland State .

After the presidential election in Puntland in 2009, Maakhir and the new Puntland government were able to settle their differences and Maakhir was annexed to the eastern country. Northland State also seems to have risen again in Puntland, but there is no reliable source for this. Even so, Puntland does not seem to control the entire Sanaag region. In July 2013, 500 local fighters defected to Somaliland forces in the south of the region. Clan elders had arranged the deal with the Somaliland army to work together for security rather than fighting each other.

In 2012 the NSUM proclaimed the state of Khaatumo , which currently controls the south of Sool. The capital of the state is Taleh .

In 2014, Somaliland troops advanced several times into disputed areas, for example in April to Taleh and in June to Hingalol.

See also

swell

Individual evidence

  1. a b Bradbury 2008 (p. 198)
  2. ^ Bradbury 2008 (p. 187)
  3. Reuters: Somaliland, Puntland clash over disputed turf again
  4. ^ Hoehne, Markus V .: Puntland and Somaliland clashing in northern Somalia: Who cuts the Gordian knot? , November 7, 2007.
  5. Reliefweb.int: Somalia: Thousands flee homes in disputed region fearing renewed clashes
  6. Garowe Online: Many Somalia journalists find refuge in Garowe ( Memento of the original from August 22, 2008 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.  @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.garoweonline.com
  7. Garowe Online: Somalia: We will reach international border, says Somaliland leader ( Memento of the original from March 31, 2008 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.  @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.garoweonline.com
  8. Garowe Online: Somalia: Somaliland troops take over Las Qorey town ( Memento of the original from January 1, 2014 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.  @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.garoweonline.com
  9. ^ Reuters Germany: Controversy between Puntland / Somaliland over German hostages in Somalia
  10. Garowe Online: Somalia: Anti-Somaliland protest in Sanaag ( Memento of the original from January 1, 2014 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.  @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.garoweonline.com
  11. Hoehne, Markus Virgil 2009: Mimesis and mimicry in dynamics of state and identity formation in northern Somalia, Africa 79/2: 252–281. doi : 10.3366 / E0001972009000710
  12. Garowe Online: ASSCAS Press Release: In Support of Las Anod's Resistance Against Somaliland ( Memento of the original from April 14, 2008 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.  @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.garoweonline.com
  13. Northern Somali Unionist Movement (NSUM) ( Memento from August 28, 2008 in the Internet Archive )
  14. Ciidamo ka goostay Khaatumo oo ku biiray Somaliland. In: midnimo.com. July 20, 2013, accessed August 22, 2014 (Somali).
  15. What is Khatumo State? (No longer available online.) April 26, 2012, archived from the original on March 12, 2014 ; accessed on August 22, 2014 . Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.somaliareport.com
  16. ^ Somaliland forces briefly seize disputed Taleh district. April 16, 2014, accessed August 22, 2014 .
  17. Somaliland troops enter disputed Hingalol town in Sanag. June 12, 2014, accessed August 22, 2014 .