Somaliland President heads to Erigavo for peace talks

Somaliland President Abdirahman Abdullahi Irro has traveled to Erigavo, the capital of the Sanaag region, to take part in a peace conference that Hargeisa officials say aims to ease persistent clan tensions in the region.

The conference, first announced by the Somaliland government in July this year, is being presented as an initiative to “strengthen peace, coexistence, and brotherhood in the Sanaag region,” according to official statements.

Erigavo has been deeply affected by the broader conflict that erupted two years ago in Las Anod between local clan militias and Somaliland forces. The fighting ended with Somaliland forces being forced out of the city after months of intense clashes. The conflict displaced more than 150,000 people, according to humanitarian organizations.

Following Somaliland’s loss of control, Lasanod and parts of the surrounding Sool region came under the authority of local militias, which soon began forming new administrative structures. The Somali federal government later moved to support this effort, backing the establishment of a new local administration in Las Anod.

In April this year, Somalia’s federal government officially recognized the new administration as a federal member state, designating Las Anod as its capital. And in September, the administration held its first presidential elections and, this week, announced its cabinet council.

The Somaliland government has strongly rejected these developments, describing them as a “violation of its territorial sovereignty.” Somaliland — which unilaterally declared independence from Somalia in 1991 but remains unrecognized international — maintains that the Sool, Sanaag, and Cayn regions are part of its territory based on colonial-era boundaries inherited from British Somaliland.

Meanwhile, Puntland, a federal member state of Somalia that also claims parts of the Sanaag region, has likewise opposed the new administration, asserting its own territorial claims. Despite these competing assertions, Somaliland and Puntland signed a mutual agreement earlier this month to collaborate on “security and peace.”

While the Erigavo conference is officially focused on promoting peace and coexistence, the underlying dispute over territorial control remains unresolved. The newly recognized federal member state continues to assert authority over parts of Sanaag, a claim both Somaliland and Puntland reject.

Puntland, though participating in the peace discussions, maintains that large areas of Sanaag fall under its jurisdiction as part of Somalia’s federal system. Somaliland, by contrast, bases its territorial claims on colonial demarcations, which extend beyond Sool into eastern Sanaag.

The peace conference — months in preparation — is expected to address inter-clan grievances, promote local reconciliation, and facilitate the safe return of displaced families. However, ongoing political and territorial disputes continue to cast a shadow over the talks.

The presence of President Irro and key clan leaders, including a prominent traditional leader Suldan Saed Suldan Abdisalam who arrived in Erigavo ahead of the conference, has raised hopes for a potential easing of tensions in the city. Still, without a broader political settlement addressing the competing claims between Somaliland, Puntland, and the newly established administration, the conference’s outcomes may be limited.